No. 23 will remain in the New England Patriots secondary for the foreseeable future.
The jersey number had been worn by Patrick Chung since the 2014 season when the safety returned to Foxboro after a one-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles. Chung, who announced his NFL retirement in mid-March, now will pass off the number to the potential next great safety in New England.
Kyle Dugger, who rocked No. 35 as a rookie with the Patriots in 2020, has switched his jersey number to 23. The 25-year-old received a blessing from Chung via Twitter on Tuesday morning.
"Wear it well young savage," Chung tweeted at Dugger.
Dugger might be in line for a breakout campaign as an NFL sophomore. The 2020 second-round pick recently said he feels "way more" comfortable with New England's defense, which is pretty telling coming from a player who flashed star potential in Year 1.
