It's one of those things that sneaks up on you, because of course Kyle Dugger is a starting safety for the New England Patriots.
But apparently that's not necessarily the case anymore.
Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper dug into the positional battle in New England, and it doesn't necessarily look great for Dugger.
Dugger is listed as a starter on New England's unofficial depth chart, but that's not how things have played out in practice.
"Jabrill Peppers, Jaylinn Hawkins, and Craig Woodson have been the top safeties in recent practices for New England while Dugger works with the second team," Alper writes.
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Dugger had offseason ankle surgery and has apparently been fighting an uphill climb to get his spot back.
“I think just making sure that he’s where he needs to be and understanding the coverage concepts and everything we do,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Wednesday. “Keep working and keep progressing. A lot of this is the guys that have earned a right to take a look with that first unit, and again, there’ll be different lineups and different things, so just focus on the reps that you get. Right now, his attitude’s been great, and he’s had a long recovery in the offseason. He’s been out there, and he’s continued to get better and work, and I think the more that he practices, the better he’s going to feel and the more that it’s going to translate onto the football field.”
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There are big implications here.
The first is that Vrabel appears to be trying to set some sort of tone or set some sort of message with a possible demotion of Dugger.
The second is that Dugger may quickly become a trade candidate if he can't break through. He's talented enough that another team would gladly take him on as a starting safety.
Maybe that works out well in the long run for the Pats if they get a quality return. Or maybe it'll turn out that Dugger should've been starting all along.
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