What placing the transition tag on Kyle Dugger means for the Patriots

Dugger will return in 2024.

The New England Patriots new regime made their first impactful move of their tenure on Tuesday, as they applied the transition tag to safety Kyle Dugger ahead of the 4 p.m. ET deadline.

Here’s what that means for New England with free agency quickly approaching.

Right of refusal

After receiving the transition tag, Kyle Dugger will still hit free agency on Wednesday if the two sides do not come to agreement on a long-term contract. However, he now essentially does so at a restricted level.

With the transition tag, New England receives the right of first refusal and may match any offer that the player receives on the open market. If they choose not to do so, the Patriots would receive zero compensation for the safety, barring a trade.

Cap implications

Players that receive the transition tag are given a one-year offer from their current team worth the average of the top-10 salaries at their position. For Dugger, that translates to a one-year contract worth $13.815 million — down from the franchise tag for safeties that is valued at $17.123 million.

That number could change as the Patriots can still negotiate — or match — a long-term deal with Dugger. But for now, that lowers New England’s cap space to just over $87.6 million.

Extension talks continue

As Jerod Mayo explained at the NFL Combine last week, keeping Dugger, who the team drafted back in 2020, for the long term would be the ideal scenario.

“You definitely want those pieces to stay. Going back to what I talked about earlier, you develop through the draft. So, if those guys stay, they’ve been raised here and they can help push the culture forward,” Mayo said.

“With guys like that, you want those guys to be happy. You want them to be here for the long term, so that’s the plan.”

The Patriots, who have reportedly already offered Dugger a new contract, now have the ability to continue extension talks with the 27-year old, and they will have until July 17 to do so unless the safety receives an offer elsewhere in free agency.

Onwenu impact

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams can only apply one franchise tag or transition tag per offseason. With the Patriots using the transition tag on Dugger, that removes the possibility of them using either tag on offensive lineman Michael Onwenu.

That sets the stage for Onwenu, who will represent himself after recently firing his agent, to hit unrestricted free agency next week unless both sides can agree on an extension beforehand. Eliot Wolf described Onwenu as a “core” player for the Patriots moving forward.

“It’s no secret we want to keep try and keep Mike,” Wolf said last week at the Combine. “He’s certainly someone that we view as a cornerstone for us.

“It will just be a little bit of a wrinkle dealing with him. Mike’s really smart and he’s introspective and he’s thoughtful, and he knows what he wants, which is always good when you’re dealing with a player.”