The New England Patriots are placing the transition tag on safety Kyle Dugger, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday. Dugger’s transition tag will be worth $13.81 million, per reports.
The transition tag is similar to the franchise tag in that it’s a one-year tender offer and gives a team the right of first refusal to match any offers the tagged player receives. Where it differs is the player receives the average of the top 10 salaries at his position as opposed to the top five, and the tagging team doesn’t receive draft compensation if they elect not to match any other offers.
The Patriots selected Dugger with the No. 37 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Since then he’s established himself as a key part of New England’s defense.
Dugger, 27, is coming off one of the best years of his career. He started all 17 games, intercepted two passes, defended seven, logged a career-high 109 tackles and tallied 1 1/2 sacks in 2023.
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