The transition tag and safety Kyle Dugger are no more.
On Sunday, the New England Patriots and the burgeoning star safety agreed to a four year, $58 million extension. Per the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan, the contract is worth upwards of $66 million with $32.5 million guaranteed.
Dugger being signed makes it a near complete sweep for the Patriots in retaining their 2024 in-house free agents. It also keeps their defensive backfield intact for the foreseeable future.
The transition tag would have allowed another team to negotiate a contract with Dugger, but the Patriots would have had an opportunity to match whatever offer came his way. But it never got to that point between the two sides with New England determined to keep their core defensive unit together.
Source: The #Patriots and S Kyle Dugger have agreed to a 4-year, $58 million deal with a max of $66 million and $32.5 million guaranteed.
Another core player extended. pic.twitter.com/ydArg9YemN
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) April 7, 2024
Now that they’ve managed to do so, the unit built by former coach Bill Belichick should remain as competitive as ever.