Steelers Free Agent Analysis: Kyle Dugger

Position: Safety

Experience: 6 Years (1 with Steelers)

Free Agent Status: Unrestricted

2025 Salary Cap Hit: $1,179,412

2025 Season Breakdown:

The Steelers acquired Kyle Dugger midseason via trade. An experienced veteran starter, does he have a future in Pittsburgh? With a new coaching staff now in place makes that question harder to answer. Mike Tomlin put Dugger on the field, but will Mike McCarthy’s defensive coaches want him?

A 2020 second-round pick, Kyle Dugger started 78 games over five-plus seasons before the Steelers acquired him from the Patriots. With Pittsburgh, he started nine games, including one just days after they traded for him. In those games, he made 42 tackles, 2 for loss, with 2 interceptions, 5 passes defensed, and 1 sack.

Dugger’s play met with early approval, but his performance grew less consistent as the season wore on. One particular bugaboo was his tendency to drop potential opportunities to intercept passes. It’s a miracle he ended up with two, in hindsight. The Patriots traded him because they had reduced his role, so is he good enough to start for the Steelers?

Free Agency Outlook:

In 2024, the Patriots signed Kyle Dugger to a four-year, $58 million contract extension. Set to turn 30 next month, it’s fair to say his market value is somewhere south of $14.5 million per year at this point in his career. But what is he worth to the Steelers, both generally and relative to the rest of the league?

One point in Dugger’s favor is that the Steelers didn’t have him for a full season. And they also paired him with Jalen Ramsey, who had never played safety on a full-time basis in the NFL before. Do they believe he can be a more effective starter if they have a full year to work with him?

Once again, the fact that there’s a new coaching staff in place makes this nearly impossible to answer. How do they view Kyle Dugger? Our first opportunity to find out will be at the Combine next week. GM Omar Khan speaks to the media then, but someone will have to ask him questions.

The Steelers have a long list of free agents this year, but not absolutely can’t-lose names, at least debatably. Aaron Rodgers is the presumptive exception, the team already going on record expressing the desire that he return. While the list includes significant players like Kenneth Gainwell and Isaac Seumalo, they are not overwhelmingly pressing priorities. The quarterback question supersedes all, and I don’t foresee another Mason Rudolph spring. There are some choice role players, but they wouldn’t fall apart if they lost the entire lot.

And with the Steelers introducing almost an entirely new coaching regime, the free agency direction is unclear. No doubt we will witness how things evolve in the time between February and March. It’s possible they make some significant moves, a surprising cut, work on a bold trade. After all, this is a new scheme into which they are now building.