NFL Insider Confident Patriots Reach Agreement With This Player

After the Patriots applied the transition tag to Kyle Dugger, Jerod Mayo explained New England utilized the designation to create more time to reach a long-term agreement with the safety.

That might not have been simple media speak from the first-year head coach.

Dugger, per the terms of the transition tag, is permitted to seek out and even sign an offer sheet with another NFL this team offseason. While the 27-year-old’s versatile skill set might be highly valued around the league, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer is confident the Patriots will eventually agree to a new deal with Dugger.

“So this shapes up to be another area of free agency where we, as a football-watching public, should get some insight into where the league is at,” Breer wrote in a column published Monday. “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchised Antoine Winfield Jr. at $17.123 million, and I’d guess that, between now and July, the Bucs work something out with their star. New England transition tagged Dugger at $13.815 million, and I’d bet the Patriots hammer out an agreement with Dugger, too.”

Retaining their own appears to be a priority for the Patriots this offseason. New England recently managed to work out new deals for tight end Hunter Henry and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, both of whom could’ve commanded strong markets in free agency.

Dugger probably is a more challenging case since he’s such a unique player who’s likely entering the prime of his career. But Mayo and company have consistently sounded determined to keep the 2020 second-rounder in New England.