Sportsnaut
The New England Patriots are entering the final week of training camp, as the team will finish up practice over the next few days and play their final preseason game versus the New York Giants on Thursday.
General manager Eliot Wolf and head coach Mike Vrabel have a ton of decisions to make before cut-down day next Tuesday. One of the toughest decisions will be deciding the future of safety Kyle Dugger.
Dugger has started 65 games for the Patriots since entering the league in 2020, but the veteran defender has lost his starting spot in training camp.
Though New England could keep Dugger on the roster as an experienced depth piece, Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub predicts the team will cut ties with the former second-round pick ahead of the 2025 NFL season.
“Kyle Dugger felt squarely on the bubble last week, and the near end-of-game fumble was the kind of play he may not have been able to afford,” Barth wrote. “That kind of mental mistake is the kind of thing Vrabel and this coaching staff have preached cutting down on since they were hired.”
Dugger did haul in an interception at the end of the Patriots’ preseason win over the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, but he also fumbled the ball in the end zone and nearly cost New England a win. The 29-year-old was playing snaps up until the very end of the game, which signals that he is in danger of getting cut soon.
Though Dugger was once a valuable piece of the Patriots’ defense, it looks like the Lenoir-Rhyne product isn’t a fit with Vrabel or Williams. It wouldn’t be surprising if Dugger’s days in Foxborough are numbered, especially with Jaylinn Hawkins stepping up as the replacement for Dugger in the safety room.
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