Kyle Dugger’s roster status with the Patriots is precarious following a career-worst season and significant salary. Dugger received a $58 million contract but posted a 34.8 PFF coverage grade (164th) and a 44.3 overall grade, among the lowest for safeties. He played injured for much of last year and has historically struggled in coverage. Preseason usage has shifted him to backup reps and a third of his snaps as a linebacker, including a jump to 45 defensive plays in Week 2. Other safeties and newcomers have outperformed him, leaving Dugger on the roster bubble.
Dugger inked a $58 million contract last offseason, which puts him in the same neighborhood as stars like Xavier McKinney, Jessie Bates, and Jevon Holland. Despite the payday, he had by far the worst year of his career last season: just seven safeties in the entire league had a worse PFF coverage grade than he did (34.8), as he came in 164th in the league. Overall, just 14 safeties graded worse than his 44.3 overall PFF grade.
An uptick in snaps against Minnesota was a bad sign for Dugger. Compared to his 18 against the Commanders, he played 45 defensive plays against the Vikings. For context, new star defensive tackle Milton Williams played 13 in the first week, not far off of Dugger's Week 1 total, but just eight snaps in Week 2. Dugger is firmly a backup with one preseason game to go.
Jabrill Peppers and Jaylinn Hawkins seem the starters for the time being, and Craig Woodson is the top backup. Super Bowl Champion Marcus Epps was also signed to a contract this offseason and has posted a 74.1 PFF grade through two weeks. Even 2024 UDFA Dell Pettus has parlayed his promising 2024 into a 79.8 PFF grade through the first two games.
Collection
[
|
...
]