It’s been a busy week for safety Kyle Dugger, as he officially got traded from the New England Patriots to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday. Now, he’s working on learning the Steelers’ playbook on the fly, as the team hopes he can become an immediate contributor in their secondary moving forward.
Getting traded in the middle of the season is always tough on players, and given the timing of the trade, Dugger has found himself in a tough spot this week. Add in a knee injury he’s been dealing with as of late, and his status for Week 9 is up in the air. However, when asked about his status for his new team’s upcoming game, Dugger made it clear he intends to play.
“If I’m asked to play, Imma be ready,” Dugger said on Thursday.
Dugger had been a starting safety for the Patriots over the past four seasons, but he lost his starting job in new head coach Mike Vrabel’s scheme over the summer. While Dugger played in seven games for the Pats, his role was chopped in half, and he struggled when being tasked with playing a deeper safety, rather than playing closer to the box like he had earlier in his career.
With the Steelers, Dugger will join a secondary that also features Jabrill Peppers, who was surprisingly released by New England right before the start of the season. Dugger was a full participant in practice on Thursday, assuming he can learn the playbook quickly, the team should have a package of players for him in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts.
Story continues below advertisement
More NFL: Steelers Make Surprising Late Addition To Week 9 Injury Report
Featured image via Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images