FOXBORO — The Patriots locked up two players to extensions since minicamp concluded in June, but they still have a long way to go with key players across the roster set to play on contract years this season.
One of those players is one of the team’s best defenders, safety Kyle Dugger, who expressed his desire to stay in New England after Day 1 of Patriots training camp on Wednesday.
“I’m just trying to play ball,” Dugger said. “That’s just what it is. I’ll let my agent handle that, and I gotta focus on the field. …
“I would love to play ball here. As far as everything else, I kind of leave that to my agent.”
The Patriots extended linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and wide receiver DeVante Parker this offseason. Dugger is joined by tight ends Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki, tackles Trent Brown and Riley Reiff, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, guard Mike Onwenu and edge defender Josh Uche, among others, whose contracts expire after this season. The Patriots still have over $15 million in cap space this season, per OverTheCap.com, and they’re set to have the most cap space in the NFL heading into the next three offseasons.
‘Yeah, we’re always in conversations,” Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh said Wednesday about the potential for more extensions. “Just like earlier in the summer, took care of a couple of guys who are going to be up next year. So there’s only so many of us, we can only get so many guys done here at a time. There’s a lot of time and effort that’s put into it on our end contractually and trying to do everything that makes sense. So we’ll keep looking at different options.
“And we’re always trying to — I like taking care of business. There’s not a whole lot of sitting around and just waiting for things to happen. We’re trying to be pretty proactive.”
The Patriots currently are projected to have over $100 million in cap space for the 2024 season. That figure balloons to over $217 million in 2025 and over $285 million in 2026. The Patriots must also make a decision next offseason whether or not to pick up quarterback Mac Jones’ fifth-year option for the 2025 season.