The Patriots have applied the transition tag to Dugger, allowing them to match any free agency offers. If Dugger plays under the one-year transition tag next season, he will cost $13.8 million against the 2024 salary cap, with ongoing negotiations for a long-term contract. The full franchise tag would have cost around $17 million.

Another key point is that only one of the franchise or transition tags can be used per offseason, meaning versatile OL Mike Onwenu won't be tagged. Onwenu is now likely headed to the open market, with the free agency tampering window opening on March 11. CLNS Media's Taylor Kyles provides his reaction and discusses the impact on Mike Onwenu's potential return.

Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo released a statement on giving Dugger the transition tag: “Kyle is a talented player with a strong work ethic who has improved every year and been extremely productive since joining our team in 2020. We value players with high character and chose to use the transition designation to give both sides more time to try to reach a long-term agreement, which is our goal with Kyle.”

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