When Kyle Dugger was traded from the New England Patriots to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was forced to hit the ground running. The trade became official on Thursday, Oct. 30, and that Sunday Dugger was thrust into the starting lineup against the Indianapolis Colts. The whirlwind turnaround time was in part due to attrition among the Steelers’ safeties, as DeShon Elliott and Jabrill Peppers both missed the Week 9 game due to injuries, and Chuck Clark sat out with an illness.
Dugger proved to be a quick study. He stepped in as the starting strong safety and played a solid game as the Steelers held the AFC’s top team in check. For his efforts, he was awarded a game ball by head coach Mike Tomlin, who was more than impressed with the sixth-year veteran’s ability to “step on a moving train.” Dugger credits teammate Jabrill Peppers as his guide in learning the Steelers’ system on such short notice. When Dugger joined SNR Drive on the Steelers Audio Network on Friday, he was asked about the guidance Peppers has provided.
“Yeah, he’s been like a personal translator, simplifying everything for me,” Dugger said.
While Dugger and Peppers haven’t been on the field yet as Steelers due to a quadricep injury that forced Peppers to miss the last two games, the two former Patriots safeties should see the field this Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Dugger and Peppers spent three full seasons together in New England before each fell out of favor under new head coach Mike Vrabel and found their way to Pittsburgh this season.
Peppers is the more veteran of the two, entering the league in 2017 as a first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns. The Michigan product was dealt to the New York Giants as part of the Odell Beckham trade and spent three seasons with New York before signing as a free agent with New England in 2022. Before the 2024 season, the Patriots signed the veteran safety to a three-year, $24 million extension, but he was released just one year later. After DeShon Elliott suffered an injury in the Steelers’ Week 1 victory over the New York Jets, Peppers signed a one-year contract with the Steelers. His veteran leadership and experience, along with his ability to play on special teams, made him a great fit for a Steelers team in need of safety depth.
As fate would have it, he was soon joined in Pittsburgh by Dugger, whom the Steelers executed a late-round pick swap with the Patriots to acquire. Dugger was a second-round pick of New England in 2020 out of Division II Lenoir-Rhyne and has fit seamlessly into the run-stopping strong safety role.
Along with his prior relationship with Jabrill Peppers, which helped him get up to speed in a new system, Dugger also mentioned that the help other veterans like Jalen Ramsey, Cam Heyward, and Darius Slay provided him on the field in his first game was key to his comfort and ability to execute.
Now that Dugger has a few games under his belt in Pittsburgh, he is looking forward to helping the Steelers bounce back this week against the Cincinnati Bengals’ high-powered offense.
“I would say making them one-dimensional is definitely attached to the goal. Stopping the run and then just executing our defenses. Definitely making them one-dimensional will make things easier,” Dugger of the Steelers’ plan this week.
Dugger will be pivotal in the Steelers’ goal of stopping Chase Brown and the Bengals’ running attack. If they can do so, opposing offenses will become one-dimensional, and the Steelers can get back to winning football games by forcing turnovers. Whatever role Kyle Dugger plays in the Steelers defense’s success, credit can also be given to Jabrill Peppers for taking his current and former teammate under his wing.
