Pittsburgh Steelers safety Kyle Dugger will wear No. 29. The trade, which was made official on Thursday morning, will now allow Dugger to practice with the team, and he takes the number last worn by running back Raheem Blackshear.
After they acquired Dugger, the team made numerous key changes to his contract that will make it far more affordable for them.
Dugger’s base salary of $9.75 million will be picked up significantly by the Patriots with $5.4 million staying on their payroll, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. In addition to that, the final two years of Dugger’s contract, which would have under contract through 2027, are being wiped out, and the Steelers will just have him on the tab for this season.
Dugger will become a free agent at season’s end and could cash in with a strong stretch run. It will also make him eligible for compensatory picks on the other side of that coin.
He has 69 career starts and has played in 81 games as the dimebacker and strong safety. Dugger, 29, now comes in as the likely replacement for DeShon Elliott moving forward. He has not registered an interception over the last two seasons but has been a force in the run game.
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