The Patriots overhauled their approach to the safety position this year by cutting Jabrill Peppers and benching Kyle Dugger, their starting duo for the past few seasons.
The two veterans are better at playing downhill than covering the deep areas of field, the latter of which is what new head coach Mike Vrabel looks for in his safeties. Those roles will now be filled by former Falcon and Charger Jaylinn Hawkins and fourth-round rookie Craig Woodson.
New England put Dugger on the trade block before roster cut-downs, but his $9.75MM guaranteed salary was likely a significant obstacle to a deal. The Patriots also looked into moving Peppers, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, but similarly received little interest despite a more tradable contract with only $4.3MM in guaranteed salary remaining.
Pepper has yet to catch on with another team, though he will have a better chance at signing after Week 1 when veteran salaries are non-guaranteed. Dugger, meanwhile, seems headed out of New England within the next year. The Patriots could try to re-bait the hook at the trade deadline if there are safety injuries around the league; if no club bites, he’ll likely be a cap casualty next offseason.
- New England was the only team to claim Rams cornerback Charles Woods off waivers, according to Reiss. He worked closely with new Patriots vice president of football operations and strategy John Streicher on Los Angeles’ special teams unit in 2024. The Patriots also claimed Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones with priority over the Bears, but they rescinded their claim after securing Woods.
- The Patriots were also the only team to claim quarterback Tommy DeVito, per Reiss, despite reports that he would receive more interest on the waiver wire.
- New England is entering the 2025 season with almost $47MM of cap space and won’t come close to hitting the ceiling this year. However, they will be able to roll over this year’s space to set up more spending next offseason, per Doug Kyed of the Boston Hearld.
- Head coach Mike Vrabel named rookie Jared Wilson as the Week 1 starter at left guard. The third-round pick out of Georgia will line up between fellow rookie Will Campbell and veteran Garrett Bradbury.
- Bill Belichick addressed his decision to ban the Patriots from North Carolina’s facilities during a recent press conference, saying (via The Athletic’s David Ubben), “It’s clear I’m not welcome there at their facility. So they’re not welcome at ours.” His dispute with his former team has continued over perceived slights on both sides, per Ubben’s colleague Dianna Russini, including a charge that a Patriots staffer was told not to wear UNC gear in the team facility.