Patriots safety Kyle Dugger and outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings are known to be available for trade with less than a week left until the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline, according to league sources.
The Patriots recently raised Dugger’s name in talks with at least one team, while the front office has long been willing to take offers on him and Jennings, sources said.
The writing seems to be on the wall for Dugger, who played through the end of last Saturday’s preseason game in Minnesota and practiced with the scout-team defense this week. The 29-year-old safety appears to have lost a step, following a high ankle sprain he suffered and played on for three months last season. After sitting out spring practices, Dugger opened training camp as a full participant, then tumbled down the depth chart. Fourth-round rookie Craig Woodson has replaced him in the starting defense.
Jennings’ name was raised in exploratory discussions earlier this summer, according to a source, though his recent performance in practice and the preseason may have changed his status with the team. Before recording three sacks in Saturday’s preseason game, Jennings enjoyed his best week of practice all summer. The 27-year-old has been cast as a questionable scheme fit in coach Mike Vrabel’s new, attacking style of defense.
Despite that, Jennings rose from the scout-team defense to the second-team unit in training camp. Since his stellar preseason performance Saturday, he has not practiced.
On Monday, Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said his front office is in contact with all other teams in the league. In response to a question about swinging a “big trade,” Wolf also stressed trades are harder to reach than most believe.
“We’re talking to all 31 teams and trying to do what’s best for us. I think those things are often a lot more complicated than the fans and some others would like to make you believe,” Wolf said. “But if there is something we think can help us, we’d definitely be open to it.”
Ryan Cowden, the team’s vice president of player personnel, echoed Wolf in his own pre-practice press conference on Tuesday.
“I think Eliot (Wolf) put it in a good (way) yesterday,” Cowden said. “There’s so many layers and complications and little nuances about every deal. Whether that’s a little deal, whether that’s a big deal or it’s a backup player or maybe an elite player.
“Our job is to constantly come up with ideas, brainstorm suggestions about players at all levels. And the acquisition of those players isn’t as easy sometimes. It takes two sides. Sometimes the player has a say. And we have to be really intentional about moves we make because any move we make sends a message to the rest of the football team.”
Dugger and Jennings are both 2020 draft picks and two of the Patriots’ longest-tenured players. Dugger has started all 45 of the games he’s appeared in the last three seasons and recorded 424 tackles, nine interceptions and three forced fumbles since he entered the league. He played at a Pro Bowl-caliber level in 2022, a major reason why the team signed him to a four-year $58 million contract in April 2024.
That contract is now expected to be a hurdle in any trade talks, with Dugger carrying a cap hit of more than $15 million this season. If he’s released, the Patriots would absorb a $14.25 million dead cap hit and create $1 million in space, per Over the Cap. Any trade seems to hinge on the Patriots eating the majority of his salary, given Dugger’s new team would otherwise inherit a $9.75 million fully-guaranteed salary and an additional $1 million in per-game roster bonuses.
Meanwhile, Jennings developed into a solid early-down starter the past two years. He has 191 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles for his career, and a reputation as one of the better edge-setting run defenders in the league. Jennings’ skill set, however, is not as valued in the Patriots’ new, attacking defensive scheme that prioritizes defensive linemen and edge defenders who play through the line of scrimmage instead of controlling gaps.
Jennings has two years left on his contract, with a $1.85 million base salary this season and only $1.35 million guaranteed. In 2026, none of his scheduled $3 million base salary is guaranteed. If Jennings is traded, the Patriots would create roughly $3.5 million in cap space, while if he’s released, that number would drop to just over $2 million.
The Patriots return to action in their final preseason game Thursday night against the Giants at MetLife Stadium. The team will then hold practices on Sunday and Monday before the league’s 53-man roster deadline.