Kyle Dugger joins rare company as Patriots’ new transition player

The veteran safety has become the first Patriot in three decades to get transition-tagged.

Nine teams made a move ahead of the NFL franchise tag deadline on Tuesday, and the New England Patriots were among them. As opposed to the other eight clubs, however, they decided to not to use the franchise tag to keep one of their players from entering free agency next week.

Instead, the Patriots went with the seldom-used transition tag to keep safety Kyle Dugger under contract for the 2024 season. The tag will pay Dugger a fully-guaranteed $13.82 million this year, unless he and the organization agree on a contract extension.

The transition tag may be cheaper than its franchise equivalent, but is less popular with teams due to the fact that it only features the right of first refusal. Dugger, for example, would leave without the Patriots getting any compensation in case they refuse to match an incoming offer sheet.

Due to that fact, the transition tag has merely been used six times total over the previous 10 offseasons (including one that was later rescinded). The Patriots, meanwhile, only used it twice between its introduction and Dugger getting tagged on Tuesday.

As a consequence, the 28-year-old is now part of a club of Patriots players whose only other members are linebacker Vincent Brown and cornerback Maurice Hurst.

The tag was placed on Brown in February 1993 — the first time it was eligible as a tool in the new free agency era. Brown’s status as transition player remained intact through that season, and he signed a new contract the following year before his eventual release after the 1995 campaign. He started all 49 possible games between 1993 and 1995, and registered eight interceptions, 6.5 sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries during that time.

Hurst, meanwhile, was tagged one year after Brown. Unlike his teammate, however, he signed a new deal quickly: just two months after getting designated as a transition player, he signed a new contract. He spent two more years in New England, starting 27 of 27 games and picking off eight passes with a pair of sacks and one forced fumble to his name.

Not only did Brown and Hurst both return to the Patriots as transition players, they both continued playing solid football for the organization after the designation. The hope is that Dugger, New England’s first player to get the transition tag in three decades, will follow that same path.

Ideally, though, with a bit more long-term staying power.