The Patriots basically tore up Kyle Dugger’s contract and ate the money
The Patriots’ decision to trade Dugger to the Steelers came with some financial stipulations explained in a new report.
Much like his former teammate Keion White, ex-Patriots safety Kyle Dugger is getting a fresh start -- both on the field and on his contract.
Hours after the Pats decided to trade the veteran safety to the Pittsburgh Steelers Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network added some financial details. The Patriots agreed to pay most of the $5.4 million left on Dugger's base salary for 2025, plus $1M in per-game roster bonuses, in order to "complete the deal." On top of that, the final two years of Dugger's contract were "wiped out," making him a true rental for the Steelers and a free agent after the current season.
Dugger originally signed a four-year extension with the Patriots worth up to $58 million, with $32.5 million guaranteed. The Pats' agreement to eat most of his remaining money for 2025 satisfies most, if not all, of the guarantees, which made it easy for the Steelers to void the final two years. Pittsburgh is free of financial burdens with Dugger, who struggled to carve out a defined role in a retooled Patriots defense over the first half of the 2025 campaign. New head coach Mike Vrabel also appeared to make a point to overhaul the team's leadership structure, which made Dugger, who was elevated to a team captain role in 2024, a candidate to be moved throughout the offseason.
The Patriots still had guaranteed money to pay Dugger, so they ostensibly decided to keep him around and try to make it work. Now that they've made it to about the midway point of the season, with the Nov. 4 trade deadline approaching, the team finally bit the bullet on Dugger's money and moved on.
New England seemed to hope that Dugger's production would eventually return to something closer to his 2021-23 level, when he averaged 3.3 interceptions, 7.2 pass breakups, and 100.9 tackles per 17 games over that span. The club was willing to keep paying him for a while to see if he could put it together, but the hourglass ran out on those prospects. Considering they kept him around and paid him for half a season anyway, it's fair to argue that if Dugger had been performing and producing like an impact box safety, he'd still be here.
Instead, he gets a 10-game audition for the Steelers, and for his potential market across the league next March. And the Patriots are left to continue making over their safety room.
