Two days after allowing Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love to complete 20 straight passes, the Pittsburgh Steelers are acquiring some help in their defensive secondary via the trade market.
The Steelers are trading a sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for safety Kyle Dugger and a seventh-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Pittsburgh was leading the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (273.3) through eight weeks in its first season without three-time All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick since 2018. The Steelers also rank in the bottom half of the NFL in EPA (0.167 – 23rd) and success rate (49.2% – 21st) allowed to opponents.
Dugger was a second-round pick for the Patriots in the 2020 NFL Draft and had started in every game he played for New England over the last three seasons.
This year, his first under new head coach Mike Vrabel, the sixth-year veteran has played a career-low 44% of the Patriots’ defensive snaps – though he played 100% of snaps in his last two games healthy in Weeks 6 and 7. Dugger missed New England’s Week 8 win over the Cleveland Browns with a knee injury.
A move to acquire another safety had started to come into focus earlier in the day on Oct. 28. Head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters that the Steelers were working out former Cincinnati Bengals safety Vonn Bell that day.
Moving Dugger was the second trade the Patriots completed on Oct. 28, coming hours after they sent edge rusher Keion White to the San Francisco 49ers.
Kyle Dugger trade details: Steelers acquire Patriots safety
Steelers receive: Safety Kyle Dugger, seventh-round pick
Patriots receive: Sixth-round pick
New England’s second trade on Oct. 28 sends Dugger to the Steelers one week before the NFL trade deadline, according to multiple reports. The Patriots had sent White, an edge rusher, to the 49ers earlier in the day.
To make room on their roster, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Steelers moved safety DeShon Elliott to injured reserve with a knee injury he suffered in Week 8.
Dugger is the second former Patriots safety to join Pittsburgh’s secondary in 2025. Jabrill Peppers, who played his last three seasons in New England, hit free agency and signed with the Steelers in the offseason.
Kyle Dugger stats
Here are Dugger’s numbers through eight weeks of the 2025 season:
Games: 7 (4 starts)
Tackles: 17 (7 solo)
Passes defensed: 0
Interceptions: 0
Forced fumbles: 0
In his first season under Vrabel, the Patriots’ new, defensive-minded head coach, Dugger has taken a backseat to Jaylinn Hawkins. Hawkins was originally a fourth-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2020 NFL Draft, 97 picks after Dugger.
Dugger could slide into Elliott’s strong safety spot with the Steelers after the latter’s knee injury landed him on injured reserve.