Dugger and the Patriots agreed Sunday on a four-year, $58 million deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
According to Rapoport, Dugger's contract is worth up to $66 million and contains $32.5 million guaranteed. Earlier in the offseason, New England placed its transition tag on Dugger, but the tag merely served as a placeholder until the 28-year-old safety was able to work out a longer-team deal with the Patriots. Dugger turned in his best season yet in 2023, appearing in all 17 of the Patriots' games while logging 109 tackles, 1.5 sacks, seven passes defensed, two interceptions and one forced fumble.
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Cody Davis: Hangs up cleats
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Davis announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday, Chris Mason of Masslive.com reports.
Davis played 11 NFL seasons, spending five years with the Rams, two with the Jaguars and the final four of his career with the Patriots. The 34-year-old primarily played on special teams and hadn't played a defensive snap since 2020. He'll finish his career with 118 combined tackles, two interceptions and three fumbles recovered.
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Texans' Myles Bryant: Finds new opportunity
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Bryant signed a contract with the Texans on Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Bryant will suit up for a new franchise in 2024 after spending the first four years of his career in New England. The Washington product appeared in all 17 games last season, recording 77 tackles (65 solo), including 1.0 sacks, while also forcing two fumbles and grabbing an interception. The 26-year-old should have the opportunity to bolster the depth in Houston's secondary in the upcoming campaign.
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Patriots' Jaylinn Hawkins: Bolsters New England's safety corps
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Hawkins has agreed to a one-year deal with the Patriots, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.
Hawkins split the 2023 regular season with the Falcons (six games) and Chargers (10 games) en route to combining for 14 tackles in that span. The 2020 fourth-rounder did rack up 84 tackles and two picks for Atlanta in 2022, but with the Patriots, Hawkins figures to serve as a depth safety behind Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger.
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Ravens' Chris Board: Back with Baltimore
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Board agreed to a contract with the Ravens on Tuesday, Ryan Mink of the team's official site reports.
Board, who spent his first four NFL campaigns with the Ravens after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2018, is coming off a 2023 regular season in which he recorded 10 tackles with the Patriots. In his looming return to Baltimore, the 28-year-old will bolster the depth of the team's linebacking corps while also maintaining his role as a core special-teams contributor.
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Chris Board: Gets cut loose
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Board was released by the Patriots on Thursday.
Board joined New England on a two-year contract last offseason, but he'll now make his exit from the team a year early. The 28-year-old was strictly a special-teams contributor last season, recording 10 combined tackles in 17 games.
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Patriots' Anfernee Jennings: Re-ups with Patriots
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Jennings has agreed to a three-year contract with the Patriots, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Jennings will remain in New England, where the 2020 third-round draft pick has spent his entire career up to this point. He posted 66 tackles (49 solo) across 15 appearances (14 starts) in 2023, but it remains to be seen if the linebacker will hold onto a starting role in 2024 under New England's new coaching staff.
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Patriots' Josh Uche: Returning to New England
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Uche has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Patriots, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
Uche reportedly had bigger offers elsewhere, but he opted to return to Foxborough for less. The 2020 second-round pick has played four seasons with the Pats and was both a depth defender and special teams contributor last season. He currently projects to start opposite Matthew Judon (biceps) at outside linebacker in 2024.
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Giants' Jalen Mills: Signing one-year pact with G-Men
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The Giants are slated to sign Mills to a one-year contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Mills turns 30 next month and is coming off a three-year stint with the Patriots after spending the first five years of his career in Philly. Mills appeared in all 17 games last season, making eight starts, and finishing with 45 tackles (26 solo), one pass breakup and one forced fumble on 40 percent of the defensive snaps. Mills figures to compete for the starting safety job alongside Jason Pinnock.
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Cardinals' Mack Wilson: Set to sign with Arizona
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Wilson and the Cardinals have agreed to a three-year, $12.75 million deal that could go as high as $15 million, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
The linebacker has played more snaps on special teams than defense in each of the last three seasons. Wilson logged 960 defensive snaps and 82 tackles as a rookie with the Browns in 2019, but he has yet to come close to those numbers since. As a member of the Patriots the last two seasons, Wilson recorded 37 and 36 tackles, respectively.
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Patriots' Alex Austin: Staying in New England
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The Patriots re-signed Austin on Thursday, Zack Cox of New England Sports Network reports.
There's no specifics on the 22-year-old cornerback's deal just yet, but he's headed back to New England. The 2023 seventh-round pick spent time with the Bills, Texans and Patriots throughout his rookie year, appearing in seven games. In those outings, Austin tallied seven total tackles and two passes defended, including one interception. Expect the young corner to compete for a depth spot in the Patriots' secondary as the offseason progresses.
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Patriots' Kyle Dugger: Will receive transition tag
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The Patriots will place the transition tag on Dugger, Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports.
Per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, by placing the transition tag (worth $13.81 million) on Dugger, the Patriots retain the right to match any free agent offers the starting safety might receive. In 17 games during the 2023 regular season, the 2020 second-rounder recorded a career-high 109 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, to go along with two interceptions.
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J.C. Jackson: Released by New England
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The Patriots announced Friday that Jackson (illness) is being released.
Jackson was reacquainted with the Patriots less than a year ago via a trade from the Chargers, but he was scheduled for a cap hit of over $14 million for the 2024 campaign. New England didn't specify that Jackson, who ended the 2023 season on the NFI list, is being cut with an injury designation, which would indicate that he's now healthy. Jackson's quality of play hasn't been the same since recovering from a ruptured patellar tendon in 2022, but he's still likely to garner interest on the open market.
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Adrian Phillips: Released by New England
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The Patriots plan to release Phillips on Monday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
The veteran safety was headed into the final year of a four-year, $12.75 million deal with New England. With his release, the Patriots will clear $3 million in cap space, leaving behind over $1.18 million in dead-cap hit. Phillips didn't miss a single game in his four years with the team but was demoted to backup duties last season, playing just 12 percent of the Patriots' defensive snaps while mainly focusing on special teams.
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Lawrence Guy: Cut by New England
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The Patriots plan to release Guy on Monday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Guy turns 34 next month and was entering the final year of his contract, which was set to pay him a $2 million salary and another $1 million in per-game roster bonuses. With the move, the Patriots will save $3 million against the cap. It ends a seven-year run with New England for Guy. The veteran won a Super Bowl and played in 110 career contests for the team.
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Patriots' Jonathan Jones: Reliable again across 14 starts
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Jones racked up 48 tackles (40 solo) and seven pass breakups across 14 regular-season appearances with the Patriots in 2023.
Jones didn't record an interception in 2023, but when on the field he once again was one of New England's most reliable assets in the secondary. Now heading into his age-31 season and the final season of the two-year, $19 million contract he inked with the Patriots last offseason, Jones can safely be considered to play a key role for the 2024 campaign, especially given his ability to contribute at both cornerback and safety.
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Patriots' Deatrich Wise: Entering final year of contract
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Wise racked up 54 tackles (22 solo), 4.5 sacks, one passed defensed and one forced fumble across 16 regular-season games with the Patriots in 2023.
Wise, who has spent all seven seasons of his NFL career with New England, is now heading into the final year of his contract with the team. He's found a recent rhythm in the team's defensive scheme, with back-to-back seasons with at least 50 tackles and 12.0 combined sacks the last two years. He stands to handle a starting role at defensive end again during the 2024 campaign.
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Patriots' Anfernee Jennings: Career year as rookie contract ends
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Jennings tallied 66 tackles (49 solo), 1.5 sacks and one fumble recovery across 15 regular-season appearances with the Patriots in 2023.
Jennings put up career-best numbers across the board in the final year of his rookie deal. A 2020 third-round pick, Jennings logged a new high with 649 defensive snaps in 2023, compared to his previous best of 337 in 2022. Heading into his age-27 season, Jennings will search for another opportunity as a rotational linebacker in free agency if the Patriots don't opt to retain him.
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Patriots' Myles Bryant: Career-high numbers in 2023
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Bryant racked up 77 tackles (65 solo), including 1.0 sack, seven pass breakups (one interception) and two forced fumbles across 17 regular-season appearances in 2023.
Bryant also accrued 11 yards on kick returns and 105 yards as a punt returner. The versatile contributor mostly handled slot snaps at cornerback for New England, but his dual-threat ability to handle punt return duties as well inarguably increased his value for the Patriots. Bryant is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
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Patriots' Jabrill Peppers: Records 78 tackles this past season
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Peppers finished the 2023 regular season with 78 tackles, two interceptions and a sack in 15 games with the Patriots.
Per Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site, Peppers profiles as an ideal box safety in today's NFL, while having finished fifth among safeties in Pro Football Focus' grade (87.3) and also being tied for sixth among all defensive backs in run stops (17) during the 2023 campaign. Peppers remains under contract with New England this coming season, which sets the stage for him to reprise his key role in the team's secondary.
