Pats Pulpit
The two longest-tenured players on the New England Patriots’ roster might be headed out the door. After sliding down the depth chart this summer, safety Kyle Dugger and outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings are not as safe from being let go as their history as former starters would suggest.
In fact, according to a recent report by the Boston Herald, both have been put on the trade block. Needless to say, there is a long way from players being available to players actually changing teams. So with that in mind, let’s assess how realistic the two moves actually are by trying to answer three distinct questions:
Obviously, all those questions need to be answered in a relative vacuum. Any follow-up moves as part of a bigger overall strategy cannot be considered, and a lot is based on speculation (informed speculation, but still).
That said, let’s dive right in starting with the 37th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Dugger joined the Patriots in the second round back in 2020, and since then has been a mainstay in the team’s secondary. One of the most exciting safeties in the NFL at his peak, he has lost a step after sustaining a nagging ankle injury early in 2024. The 29-year-old did start the summer as a member of New England’s top defense, but has since been surpassed on the depth chart by virtually every other safety on the roster. Most recently, he played deep into the preseason game in Minnesota and repped with the scout team in practice.
Roster situation: The Patriots demoting Dugger to a bottom-of-the-depth-chart role in practice was possible due to the depth they have at safety. Jabrill Peppers is the top option, with veteran Jaylinn Hawkins the No. 2 alongside him. Fourth-round rookie Craig Woodson has also emerged as a serious contender for a spot in the top-level rotation, while Marcus Epps and Dell Pettus keep battling for their roster lives. In addition, New England also has used Brenden Schooler as a part-time safety, even though his main focus will remain on special teams.
At the moment, four of the Patriots’ seven safeties are roster locks: Peppers, Hawkins, Woodson and Schooler. The other three, including Dugger, seem to be fighting for what might not be more than one spot on the 53-man team.
Cap impact: After initially receiving the franchise tag, Dugger signed a four-year, $58 million contract extension with the Patriots last offseason that will run through 2027. A trade would remove a significant portion of the investment from New England’s salary cap: only his remaining signing bonus prorations as well as a 2025 offseason workout bonus would stay on the team’s books.
That would result in dead money numbers of $4.75 million and $9 million in...
