Don’t blink! The New England Patriots are busy this Tuesday night. Less than an hour ago, the team announced that they would be sending edge rusher Keion White to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a sixth round pick (read full details here). Now, 39 minutes later, the Patriots announce a deal being done with the Pittsburgh Steelers that sees Kyle Dugger sent away for yet another sixth round pick.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced the move at 7:24 PM Tuesday night.
The former second round pick was considered a draft blunder in former head coach Bill Belichick’s long line of NFL Draft missteps. But it wasn’t until previous head coach Jerrod Mayo botched Dugger’s contract negotiations that the 29-year-old safety became a real thorn in New England’s side.
Kyle Dugger’s Terrible Contract
Kyle Dugger is a good football player, there is no doubt about it. But is he the 12th best safety in the entire National Football League? Well, his contract would suggest he is.
After posting 109 tackles and two interceptions in the fourth and final year of Dugger’s rookie contract, former head coach Jerrod Mayo decided to extend the promising captain.
The deal the two worked out was a four year, 58 million dollar contract that keeps the former 37th overall selection from Division II Len-Rhyne under contract until 2027.
Well that deal aged poorly immediately when Dugger ate up $15 million in cap space, appearing in just 13 games and captaining a four win football team for a second consecutive year.
Fast forward to 2025, the coach that drafted you is fired and the coach that extended you is too. Dugger finds himself on the practice squad as he fought through all of training camp hoping just to earn a spot on the team. The player making $14.5 million annually no longer had a spot on the lineup.
Now he goes to Pittsburgh where the 4-3 Steelers will look to make a playoff push in an extremely weak AFC North.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Patriots Make Second Trade Of Day, Ship Off $58M Safety appeared first on Heavy Sports.