{"id":852459,"date":"2026-04-04T02:22:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/852459\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T02:22:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:22:47","slug":"kyle-dugger-makes-honest-admission-after-signing-with-bengals-and-two-plays-prove-why-hes-in-cincinnati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/852459\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Dugger makes honest admission after signing with Bengals, and two plays prove why he\u2019s in Cincinnati"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kyle Dugger is excited to join the Cincinnati Bengals after two years of constant change. The Bengals should be just as excited considering the plays he\u2019s made against them during that same timeframe.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Cincinnati
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCincinnati Bengals tight end Tanner Hudson (87) makes a catch as New England Patriots safety Kyle Dugger (23) puts on the pressure, Hudson dropped the ball and Patriots Marcus Jones recovered the ball in the 2nd quarter at Paycor Stadium Sunday, September 8, 2024.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Cara Owsley \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n

New Cincinnati Bengals safety Kyle Dugger<\/a> is amped up to be on his third team in the last six months. The former second-round pick was traded from the New England Patriots to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the middle of the 2025 season<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Now that he\u2019s in the Queen City, the 30-year old Dugger is looking forward to a fresh start. <\/p>\n

\u201cFresh start and a new opportunity. I\u2019m excited for it,\u201d Dugger told Bengals.com\u2019s Geoff Hobson<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s been a rough two years. I\u2019m thankful where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being traded from his original team wasn\u2019t the only hurdle in Dugger\u2019s path over the last two years. New England moved on from head coach Bill Belichick and promoted Jerod Mayo in 2024, leading to a down year fresh off signing a four-year, $58 million extension with the club. Mayo was then replaced by Mike Vrabel, and Dugger only got to play in eight games before being sent off the eventual AFC champions.<\/p>\n

Change has been constant in Dugger\u2019s life over the last 24 months, but he isn\u2019t the only party benefitting from his arrival. <\/p>\n

Bengals can now be on the positive end of Kyle Dugger\u2019s playmaking ways<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for the Bengals to acquire players who\u2019ve given them fits in the past. Mike Hilton, another former Steelers defensive back, is one of many to have made plays against Cincinnati before donning the orange and black themselves.<\/p>\n

Despite Dugger\u2019s struggles over the last two years, two of his best plays hurt the Bengals.<\/p>\n

In Week 1 of the 2024 season, it was Dugger who forced Tanner Hudson<\/a>\u2018s fumble at the goal line, ultimately helping the Patriots win one of their only four games on the year, and ensuring another slow start for Cincinnati. <\/p>\n

Fast forward a year and two months. It\u2019s Week 11 of the 2025 season, and Dugger is playing his third game with Pittsburgh since being traded. The Bengals are trying to take the lead in a one-score contest, and Joe Flacco throws a pick-six from the opposing 35-yard line.<\/p>\n

Right to Dugger himself.<\/p>\n

Self-scouting is how Cincinnati found some of the best plays of Dugger\u2019s career. It\u2019s no wonder why he became a target of the club\u2019s weeks into free agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose things you really can\u2019t coach,\u201d safeties coach Jordan Kovacs said. \u201cThey\u2019re just good football players who have experience. That\u2019s what this guy is. He\u2019ll push those guys as he carves a role.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose guys\u201d being incumbent starting safety Jordan Battle, and reserves PJ Jules and Daijahn Anthony. Dugger has 78 starts to his name and was once considered a building block for a Belichick-style defense. For him to sign with a team weeks before the draft indicates a notable role is definitely on the table for him. <\/p>\n

The Bengals will gladly let him run with one if he makes these kinds of plays for them instead of against them this year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Nov\t\t<\/p>\n

Cincinnati Bengals News<\/p>\n

The Cincinnati Bengals are signing veteran safety Kyle Dugger to a one-year deal. Dugger\u2019s experience as a starter gives Cincinnati great depth at the position, but the dream of Caleb Downs may be over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kyle Dugger is excited to join the Cincinnati Bengals after two years of constant change. The Bengals should…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":852460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[228,613,227,256,2296,7,7882,6,2592],"class_list":{"0":"post-852459","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-bengals","9":"tag-caleb-downs","10":"tag-cincinnati","11":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","12":"tag-cincinnatibengals","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-kyle-dugger","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-nfl-free-agency"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116344064603382802","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}