Patriots have extended offer to Kyle Dugger ahead of free agency, per reports

Kyle Dugger played 98 percent of New England’s defensive snaps in 2023.

There is a chance Kyle Dugger’s road to unrestricted free agency ends before the new league year begins.

Following early discussions, the New England Patriots have a contract offer on the table for the starting safety, as reported Thursday by MassLive’s Karen Guregian and Mark Daniels as well as the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.

Dugger, who will soon turn 28, has started 52 of his 61 appearances since landing in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft. At No. 37 overall, he marked the organization’s top selection that spring.

The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne product stands with 343 tackles, including 17 for loss, and 2.5 sacks during his tenure. He also stands with nine interceptions to go with a pair of forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. Those turnovers have given way to 249 return yards and three touchdowns.

In the final year of his rookie contract — and first in the absence of retired safety Devin McCourty — Dugger led New England’s defense with 1,115 snaps played. The former Cliff Harris Award winner tied for the team lead in picks while leading the way in solo stops. He carried a base salary of $2.743 million.

Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf discussed the futures of Dugger as well as his 2020 draft classmate, offensive lineman Mike Onwenu, at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday. And on Wednesday, so did Jerod Mayo.

“Man, I love those guys,” New England’s head coach told reporters in Indianapolis. “I love big Mike. I think he has the versatility to play guard or tackle. Look, one of those guys that when he’s going, he’s dominant. And with Dugger, I would say last year going into the season, there were some questions about can he communicate and all those things. He squashed all of that this year. He did a fantastic job in his new role without having Devin there.

“So, you definitely want those pieces to stay. And going back to what I talked about earlier, you develop through the draft. So, if those guys stay, obviously they’ve been raised here. They can help push the culture forward.”

Ahead is competition.

The legal tampering period opens at 12 p.m. ET on March 11. The official start of free agency follows at 4 p.m. ET on March 13. But before those dates arrive, there is another to monitor.

The deadline for clubs to apply the franchise tag will pass at 4 p.m. ET on March 5. For the safety position, the one-year tender has been set at $17.123 million after the NFL’s salary cap climbed to $255.4 million.