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Patriots' former starter is one of the top names on the trade block after being put in the dog house by new coaching staff

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Gregson | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 12:03 PM ET

It feels like yesterday that New England Patriots safety Kyle Dugger burst onto the scene as a standout prospect from tiny Lenoir-Rhyne.

The second-rounder went on to incur plenty of success in New England, earning a four-year extension last offseason, totaling over $58 million.

But it's clear that Mike Vrabel and the rest of the Patriots staff aren't the biggest fans of Dugger, and that leaves him as one of the top trade candidates in the NFL ahead of Tuesday's roster cutdown day.

Patriots likely to move off Kyle Dugger

"The Patriots are shopping safety Kyle Dugger, sources say, their starter the last five seasons," wrote NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport on Instagram. "While Dugger thrived in New England and eventually earned a 4-year, $58M contract extension, the new staff appears to view him differently. He’s played deep into preseason games. . .

" . . .Dugger has been taking second-team reps in camp after a long recovery for tight-rope surgery on a high-ankle sprain. Fully healthy now, Dugger looked like himself in their last preseason game."

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It's started to become a trend in the NFL, where even if a player signs a notable extension in the last 12-18 months or if they have a heavy cap hit, teams will just eat the salary and dead money and sever ties with a player if they feel they are no longer valuable.

And when you go from starting and being a fringe Pro Bowler, to playing with the third and fourth team defense in the second half of preseason games, it's very clear that the team no longer values Dugger.

Woof! One year into a four-year, $58 million extension, Dugger is reportedly on the trade block. There’s no shortage of examples of big safeties who carve out a successful role as a hybrid defender. Teams will need a vision to embrace bringing on his salary, and New England will have to really want to offload the salary for something to come together here — but there’s enough smoke to consider this could be a nice defensive weapon for someone with a vision to accommodate his skill set.

— Kyle Crabbs, A to Z Sports NFL analyst

The financial implications will be the main driving point here. I doubt New England will haggle over draft capital, but asking teams to take on most of the salary of a former asset whom you are trying to unload doesn't tend to go well.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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