The Pittsburgh Steelers made the trade for safety Kyle Dugger with the New England Patriots official Thursday morning. In the process, the Steelers also revealed Dugger’s number in the Black and Gold.
After wearing No. 23 for most of his time with the Patriots, Dugger will now wear No. 29.
The team announced Dugger’s new jersey number in a press release announcing the official completion of the trade, which saw the Steelers acquire Dugger and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick from the Patriots for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
Dugger wore No. 35 as a rookie during the 2020 season in New England before switching to No. 23 ahead of the 2021 season. Steelers cornerback Darius Slay wears No. 23, so Dugger had to find new digits.
He settled on No. 29, becoming the first Steelers player to wear the number this season.
Last season rookie Ryan Watts and running back Aaron Shampklin wore No. 29 for the Steelers. It’s usually been a defensive backs number throughout the Black and Gold’s history.
Players like Levi Wallace, Kameron Kelly, Brian Allen, Shamarko Thomas, Ryan Mundy, and Chidi Iwuoma previously wore No. 29 for the Steelers. The most famous No. 29 in franchise history belongs to running back Barry Foster, who wore No. 29 from 1990-94.
Defensive back Ron Johnson also wore No. 29 from 1978-84, too, and recorded 13 interceptions in 91 games with the Black and Gold.
Hopefully Dugger can make an impact in his new digits for the Steelers. With safety DeShon Elliott landing on Injured Reserve with a leg injury, the Steelers needed another big, physical safety, and Dugger checks that box.
In his career, he’s played 1,995 snaps in the box, along with 897 snaps at free safety and 726 snaps in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s a defensive back that can move all over the place, but at this point in his career seems much better suited for a box role, attacking downhill.
He joins former Patriots teammate Jabrill Peppers in the Steelers secondary in hopes of helping shore things up for a defense that has really struggled this season after plenty of hype coming into the year.
The Patriots reportedly ate most of the remaining money on Dugger’s contract this season, while the Steelers “wiped out” the final two years of Dugger’s contract, making him a free agent after the 2025 season.
We’ll see if the former second-round pick in 2020 out of Lenoir-Rhyne can hit the ground running in Pittsburgh and make an impact, helping fill the void of Elliott.
Recommended for you