The Patriots continue to prioritize Kyle Dugger, who is rumored to be a franchise tag contender. If the teenage safety hits the open market, he’ll be among the best defenders available. That’s what the Pats are attempting to stop.
The team has made Dugger an offer, according to Karen Guregian and Mark Daniels of MassLive.com, with less than a week left before the franchise tag application deadline. The Pats have until 11 a.m. CT to talk just with Dugger if there isn’t a tag. During the tampering window, unsigned players are then free to communicate with other teams.
The cost of tagging a safety has increased due to the cap spike to $255.4MM; currently, it is $17.12MM. This is a lot more than the $12.9 million that the Bengals needed to keep Jessie Bates off the market in 2022. That makes things more difficult for the Pats. It is said that the Giants are thinking on using safety Xavier McKinney’s less-used transition tag, which would cost $13.82 million. Offer sheets can be obtained with a transition tag since teams are not reimbursed in the event that their offer is not matched. A player signing elsewhere is all but guaranteed to be rejected by a franchise tag.
Eliot Wolf’s appointment as general manager by the Patriots, who are already expected to spend more in free agency than they usually do, according to Jerod Mayo, does add some fascinating element to it. Under Ted Thompson, the Packers were not recognized for this kind of behavior while Wolf was in charge. But over the course of that protracted reign, Green Bay consistently kept its own talent. The Patriots have two guys in Dugger and Michael Onwenu who are soon to be top undrafted free agents. Onwenu is a versatile O-lineman that the team is attempting to keep, although he may decide to go.
According to MassLive, Mayo stated of Dugger and Onwenu, “You definitely want those pieces to stay.” “You grow through the draft, so if those individuals stick around, they can undoubtedly contribute to the advancement of the culture because they were raised here. Regarding Dugger, I would say that prior to the season last year, there were some doubts about his communication skills and other things. All of that was squashed by him last year. In his new position, he performed admirably even without Devin McCourty present.
