Though an eventual change of scenery was in the tea leaves since training camp, when Dugger was demoted to the second team amid Mike Vrabel’s first preseason as head coach, it’s still an abrupt turnaround for the 2020 second-round safety.
He signed a four-year, $66 million contract extension in April 2024, suggesting he was locked into a future roaming the secondary for the Patriots, but that was under a different coaching staff — and now that deal has mostly been eliminated. Dugger has started just four of seven games for a New England defense under Vrabel that is currently ranked fourth in points allowed; he has 17 tackles and little else on the stat sheet.
He’s been a solid player throughout his career, though, amassing 441 tackles, nine interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles across 81 games.
His playmaking ability is exactly what Pittsburgh needs as the Steelers deal with injuries and an underperforming defense.
The Black and Gold sit atop the AFC North at 4-3, but Mike Tomlin’s bunch is reeling of late, having lost two straight games in which they gave up 68 combined points. Safety DeShon Elliott suffered a hyperextended knee in the team’s Week 9 loss to the Packers and is going on injured reserve, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, so the acquisition of Dugger provides Pittsburgh with a potential replacement for the time being, plus excellent depth whenever Elliott is able to return.
A week out from the Nov. 4 trade deadline, the Steelers are making moves to keep pushing for their first divisional title since the 2020 season.