The New England Patriots had a busy Tuesday, signing cornerback and punt returner Marcus Jones to a three-year extension worth $36 million, then trading defensive end Keion White to the San Francisco 49ers and safety Kyle Dugger to the Pittsburgh Steelers in deals that included a swap of late-round draft picks.
The team also plans to sign rookie safety John Saunders Jr. from the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad to their 53-man roster to fill the Dugger void, according to sources familiar with the Patriots’ plan.
These moves come ahead of the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday (4 p.m. ET).
The Patriots (6-2) have been one of the NFL’s surprise teams and sit in first place in the AFC East, with the five-time defending division champions Buffalo Bills (5-2) directly behind them. The Patriots beat the Bills 23-20 on the road in Week 5 and will face them at home in Week 15.
Coach Mike Vrabel, in his first season with the Patriots, continues to put his stamp on the team, with the recent flurry of moves being the latest example. Here are three main questions regarding the moves, as well as the one player in Ben Solak the Patriots could benefit from a trade for.
Why did New England move on from Keion White and Kyle Dugger?
White and Dugger fit well into the old defensive scheme adopted by former coaches Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo, but not so much into Vrabel’s scheme which values defensive ends who can bend the edge and safeties who can play multiple positions.
White played 74% of defensive snaps in 2024 under Mayo, whose scheme valued White’s versatility to play multiple spots (DT, DE, OLB). In Vrabel’s new scheme, the staff has locked White (6-foot-5, 285 pounds) at DE behind Harold Landry III (6-2, 252) and K’Lavon Chaisson (6-3, 255) — who are at their best bending the rim. White people are not natural masters, as they tend to gain more with their pure power. As a result, White has only been on the field for 25.9% of snaps in 2025.
Dugger is more of a safety whose ability to play closer to the line of scrimmage was seen as an asset by Belichick and Mayo, but that doesn’t represent much of a safety’s responsibilities in Vrabel’s plan, which values those who can play a variety of roles (which is part of why Saunders brought them in).
As a result, White and Dugger slipped down the depth chart. White slots anywhere between third and fifth defensive end, depending on the week. He was left out of Sunday’s Week 8 win over the Cleveland Browns, in part because he doesn’t play much on special teams, but also because he didn’t always seem to be playing with the same intensity as he did at the start of the 2024 season, when he totaled four sacks in the first two games.
Dugger was the No. 3 safety on the depth chart, after losing his starting role to six-year veteran Jaylinn Hawkins and 2025 fourth-round pick Craig Woodson.
How do these measures help the Patriots in the long run?
The draft compensation (they received two sixth-round picks in exchange for White, Dugger and two seventh-round picks) is modest.
Where the Dugger trade helps the Patriots the most is financially. They’re over the salary cap for 2026 and lost Dugger’s $10.75 million base salary that year, as well as an additional $1.5 million in roster bonuses, putting them in a better cap position. Likewise for 2027, when Dugger was set to earn a base salary of $11.75 million, plus $1.5 million in roster bonuses.
To get out of those contract years, the Patriots agreed to pay a significant portion of Dugger’s remaining guarantees this year, even though he will play for the Steelers.
White was not practicing in New England and the situation seemed to reach a breaking point this week while he was inactive. So if his departure opens the door to acquiring a veteran passer or elevating and growing a young runner, it could help the team in the future.
White hasn’t always seemed happy in the locker room either, telling MassLive in early September of his demotion: “As long as I have a job, I like the fact that I have a job. I don’t care. They might put me in the corner. If they pay me, I’ll play it.”
Is New England ready to continue moving players before the trade deadline?
Nothing would be a surprise, even if the odds favor them adding instead of subtracting based on their first place finish. Sources familiar with the team’s thinking said a running back and a veteran passer are the two areas most likely to be targeted. They now have two additional sixth-round picks as compensation to potentially include in potential trades.
Vrabel said Monday that the personnel department was “evaluating the market around the league.”
Additionally, Vrabel said Monday that he expects running back Terrell Jennings to be placed on the 53-man roster by the end of the week. The team also added two running backs, Rushawn Baker and Jonathan Ward, to the practice squad on Tuesday.
Between Jennings and Saunders, the Patriots would have a full roster of 53 players. This means that if the team acquires a player in a trade, they will have to modify the corresponding roster.
Rashid Shaheed, receiver for the New Orleans Saints. Chris Olave and Shaheed should be targets, but Shaheed would likely cost less and also fit better into quarterback Drake Maye’s spread-the-wealth style. Shaheed brings a game-changing element of speed that is sadly absent in New England’s current receiving corps, and he could be easily extended while still keeping plenty of salary cap space open for a gigantic WR1 contract in March. — My name is Solak
A player the Patriots should target
