Dugger has been hampered by the injury for most of the 2024 season.
Kyle Dugger’s disappointing 2024 campaign did not come to an end when the final whistle was blown in Week 18. Just four days after his team’s season finale, the New England Patriots safety had to undergo tightrope surgery on an injured right ankle that had bothered him for much of the season.
According to a recent story by the Boston Herald, Dugger spent the next two weeks in a cast.
A second-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2022, Dugger was assigned the franchise tag last offseason before signing a $58 million contract extension to stay in New England for the next four years. The first of those four seasons, however, saw him not meet expectations. His ankle injury played a significant part in that.
Dugger first got hurt against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4, when he twisted his ankle on a field goal in the late first quarter. He did play one more snap after the injury, but eventually was carted off the field.
The injury was initially diagnosed as a mild sprain, and he later was informed he had developed a bone bruise. Just like his ankle, his play also took a turn for the worse as the season progressed. Hampered by the injury, Dugger failed to become the impact player the Patriots signed him — and needed him — to be in 2024.
In total, Dugger appeared in 13 of the Patriots’ 17 games last season and was on the field for 759 defensive snaps — fifth most on the team and tops among all safeties on the roster. However, he missed a team-high 13 tackles on the year and was regularly victimized in coverage.
“I felt like I let the team down. And it was challenging because mentally, I couldn’t check out and recover,” Dugger told the Herald. “Guys were still looking to me, and I still needed to watch film and help guys see things and make plays, things that I felt like a good captain, good leaders, would do. And I was struggling because I was dealing with my own frustrations about not being able to play and not understanding why.
“Being told, basically, a sprain was keeping me back. And I’m just like, this doesn’t make sense.”
Dugger tried playing through the issue but eventually was informed in December that he would have to undergo surgery on what had in actuality been a severe high ankle sprain. He made it past the finish line, but the injury and subsequent surgery will now impact his 2025 preparation as well.
Dugger therefore is one of several Patriots leaders heading into 2025 in recovery mode. Fellow team captains David Andrews and Ja’Whaun Bentley had to undergo surgery during the season, while Christian Barmore, Jabrill Peppers and Marcus Jones all prematurely ended 2024 on the sidelines as well.
The Patriots, who hired Mike Vrabel as their new head coach earlier this month, will count on all of them making a full and speedy recovery. Their defense, which will be coordinated by fellow outside acquisition Terrell Williams next year, will depend on it.