NFL Rumors: 4 best tag-and-trade candidates and where they will land
By Lior Lampert
Even though the NFL’s franchise/transition tag window officially closed as of Tuesday, Mar. 5 at 4 p.m. ET, plenty of offseason uncertainty and speculation remains.
The tag can serve two main purposes: act as a placeholder to give both sides more time to negotiate and find common ground on a long-term contract, or as a precautionary measure to assure the player remains on the roster before eventually trading him to another team.
Several factors weigh into the decision to tag someone or not such as salary cap situation and the outlook/direction of the franchise, but ultimately it serves as a safety valve for front office executives.
All things considered, here are the four best tag-and-trade candidates and where they will end up.
4. Kyle Dugger, New England Patriots
The New England Patriots have placed the rarely used transition tag on safety Kyle Dugger, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, meaning he can still negotiate with other teams, but it is cheaper than the franchise tag because it accounts for the top 10 salaries at the position.
However, the tagging team receives no draft capital if they choose to not match, which gives the Patriots incentive to either work out a long-term deal or find a new home via trade for Dugger.
Based on the current state of the team as they enter the first season of the post-Belichick era under head coach Jerod Mayo, committing long-term money to a player at a devalued position isn’t ideal.
So, trading Dugger is the next best option for the Pats. The 2020 second-round pick has developed into a key cog for New England’s defense, playing an every-down role last season, logging 98 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.
In 2023, Dugger started all 17 games, recording a career-high 109 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, six tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, two interceptions, and a forced fumble.
With a swiss-army-knife skill set, Dugger can help contending teams in need of secondary help that can take on his contract, which is more of a luxury than a necessity considering the perceived value of the position in today’s league.
In come the Detroit Lions, who are loaded with cap space and ranked near the bottom of the league in nearly every major statistical defensive passing category. After coming up shy of their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, the Lions will be eager to get back in that position, making them a viable team to go all-in on Dugger.