New England Patriots - NESN.com
New England Patriots veterans Kyle Dugger and Anfernee Jennings may be nearing the end of their time in Foxborough.
League sources told the Boston Herald that the team has raised both players’ names in trade talks, with Dugger emerging as the likelier candidate to be moved. The 29-year-old safety has slipped down the depth chart after struggling through a high ankle sprain last year and losing his starting spot to rookie Craig Woodson.
Jennings has also surfaced in discussions, though his recent preseason surge may complicate any decision. The outside linebacker racked up three sacks against Minnesota after his best week of practice all summer. He has been viewed as an awkward fit in coach Mike Vrabel’s aggressive system, but his performance has at least reopened the evaluation.
Front-office leaders have acknowledged that trade conversations are constant but rarely straightforward.
“We’re talking to all 31 teams and trying to do what’s best for us,” Eliot Wolf said, as transcribed by Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. He added that deals “are often a lot more complicated than the fans and some others would like to make you believe.”
Ryan Cowden, another top personnel executive, stressed that every scenario carries weight.
“We have to be really intentional about moves we make because any move we make sends a message to the rest of the football team,” Cowden said, per Callahan.
Dugger remains under contract on a four-year, $58 million deal signed in April 2024, a number that looms as a barrier to any deal unless the Patriots absorb salary. Jennings is on a much lighter contract, which makes him easier to move if interest develops.
Both players, drafted in 2020, are among the team’s longest-tenured defenders. Their futures now hinge on whether New England finds a partner willing to make a deal.
