The New England Patriots conducted a complete and total roster reconstruction over the offseason. Close to 50% of the current players under contract were not with the team this time last year. Several sources fear this roster turnover might result in the Pats parting ways with four-year starting safety, Kyle Dugger.
“It’s hard to ignore where Kyle Dugger sits on the depth chart these days,” writes famed Patriots insder Phil Perry. “That he was on the field for the final play Saturday, intercepting a pass but not getting down quickly and nearly having the football stripped for a game-tying fumble recovery, indicates the Patriots see him as little more than depth at the moment. He’s been stiff in space and doesn’t look like the kind of safety Vrabel is looking for.”
So who is it then? Who is the player Perry predicts will dethrone last season’s captain, who has amassed 190 tackles in the last two seasons?
Why it’s Dell Pettus of course.
“Pettus may not fit that description perfectly, either, but he was around the football in preseason game No. 2, and he gained some special teams experience under coordinator Jeremy Springer last season,” Perry concludes.
Pettus appeared in all 17 games last season as a rookie undrafted free agent. He is credited with just one start on defense, with an overwhelming majority of his rookie year snap share coming on special teams where he started on multiple units.
He stands five-foot-eleven, 200 pounds and made 28 tackles his rookie year.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Multiple Sources Project Patriots Cutting Captain, Multi-Year Starter appeared first on Heavy Sports.