The New England Patriots are undergoing changes under new head coach Mike Vrabel who looks to get the team back on track to being the dynasty team they were seasons ago. One of those changes seems to include Kyle Dugger.
Just earlier last offseason, Kyle Dugger had signed a new contract extension with the Patriots for four years, $58 million. The issue is, the Patriots now have immense depth in their secondary now with Jabrill Peppers, Marcus Epps, Jaylinn Hawkins, Dell Pettus, and Craig Woodson. What has been shown so far in practice is that Woodson has taken over that third safety role alongside Peppers and Hawkins, which is the role Dugger had.
With Kyle Dugger no longer taking first-team snaps, it raises questions surrounding his future in New England. For the Patriots, if Dugger is going to be a non-factor, they need to look to trade him.
The perfect team to emerge that needs to trade for Kyle Dugger upon him becoming available is the Jacksonville Jaguars.
New England Patriots Trade Kyle Dugger to the Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars saw a huge issue emerge for them in their preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and that was the overall production from the defense. The hiring of Anthony Campanile was supposed to help in fixing the Jaguars’ issues with his balance zone spacing system, but there are already cracks showing.
In the preseason game against Pittsburgh, the defense was allowing too many open looks, which resulted in their quarterbacks of Skylar Thompson and Mason Rudolph completing a combined 29-of-38 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. There were major communication issues, and those need fixed with talented veteran player to help in that area on the backend, and Kyle Dugger can do just that.
Since entering the NFL in 2020, Kyle Dugger emerged as one of the most reliable defenders for the Patriots. Over that span, Dugger has shown his versatility with lining up on the defensive line, in the box, in the slot, at free safety, and even as a cornerback. This has allowed him to make plays from anywhere, resulting in 42 pressures, four sacks, 311 tackles, 132 stops, and 1,780 yards allowed while also securing nine interceptions and creating 10 pass breakups per PFF.
Last season was not as great for Kyle Dugger as he dealt with an ankle injury, but has been reported to be fine so far throughout training camp. If the new Patriots regime doesn’t have a role for Dugger, his skill set and leadership would provide a boost to the Jaguars’ secondary that needs more help at their safety spot besides relying on Darnell Savage, Eric Murray, Antonio Johnson, and Andrew Wingard.
