Exit Meeting: S Kyle Dugger
Experience: 6 Years
Kyle Dugger not only wasn’t a starter for the Steelers at the beginning of last season, he wasn’t even a member of the team. Pittsburgh acquired the veteran safety in a midseason trade with the Patriots for a late-round pick swap. Considering what they invested, it was a smart move, but what of his future here?
While Dugger has NFL starting experience—he started 69 games in New England—the Patriots made him available because they were reducing his role. Earlier in the year, they acquired another Patriots castoff safety in Jabrill Peppers. Both of them are pending unrestricted free agents, and their plans for either are unclear.
Kyle Dugger started nine games for the Steelers, and his game tape is a mixed bag. Statistically, he recorded 42 tackles, 2 for loss, with 1 sack, 2 interceptions, and 5 passes defensed. He had more shots at takeaways that he couldn’t complete, however, and some lapses in coverage were costly for the defense.
One has to consider the fact that Dugger came to the Steelers midstream, so some grace is reasonable. He started his first game for Pittsburgh just days after joining the team, which is never easy. On top of that, the Steelers just moved Jalen Ramsey from cornerback to safety, too. He wasn’t just working in a new safety tandem, but one in which his partner was new to safety.
It is a credit to Kyle Dugger’s experience and professionalism that the secondary didn’t miss a beat as they transitioned on the back end following DeShon Elliot’s season-ending injury. But is Dugger a part of the steelers’ future? With Elliott returning, and Ramsey still a possibility to remain at safety, do they move on?
Dugger will turn 30 years old shortly after the new league year begins next month. He showed last season that he can still play, but does he merit a starter’s contract? The Patriots paid most of what they still owed him, making acquiring Dugger palatable in the first place. But how much are the Steelers willing to pay him on the open market, and in what role? This is a new coaching staff that has no ties to him, so it’s a fresh and objective evaluation process.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves licking their wounds after yetanother early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, but with major change coming. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we willgo down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? The resignation of Mike Tomlin makes those questions much more difficult to answer, but much more important. We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.
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