Patriots Rumors: Kyle Dugger Lands New Deal After Transition Tag

The Patriots have made a clear effort to take care of their own all offseason, and that trend continued Sunday morning.

New England and Kyle Dugger have agreed to terms on a new four-year contract, as first reported by NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo and Eric Edholm. Dugger, who received the transition tag from the Patriots in early March, can earn a maximum of $66 million on his new contract which includes $32.5 million guaranteed, per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Dugger, along with the recently re-signed Mike Onwenu, was New England’s most important internal free agent heading into 2024 free agency. One day after the versatile safety received the transition tag, which allowed him to sign an offer sheet outside of Foxboro, Mass., head coach Jerod Mayo stressed the Patriots utilized the tactic simply to give the sides more time to iron out a new deal.

And Dugger deserved to be paid. The 28-year-old has played at a high level in New England ever since joining the organization as a 2020 second-round pick and allows the Patriots to get pretty creative on defense.

With Dugger and 2023 first-round pick Christian Gonzalez under contract for the next handful of years, the future of the Patriots’ secondary is bright.