Kyle Dugger Absence vs. Browns Strains Patriots Secondary
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — With their Week 8 matchup against the Cleveland Browns set to kick off at Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots are hoping to continue their winning ways heading into Week 9.
The Patriots (5-2) enter this matchup on the heels of a dominant 31-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Cleveland (1-5) also won its Week 7 contest against the Miami Dolphins by a score of 31-6 at Huntington Bank Field.
With just over an hour until the 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff, the Patriots and Browns have released their lists of inactives:
PATRIOTS INACTIVES:
S Kyle Dugger
LB Caleb Murphy
WR Efton Chism, III
DE Eric Gregory
DE Keion White
G Caedan Wallace
QB Tommy DeVito (3rd QB)
What it Means for the Patriots:
Dugger entered the weekend as questionable for Week 8 with a knee injury. The Lenoir-Rhyne product did not participate the the Pats final practice of the week and was the lone Patriot to be listed on their ultimate injury and practice participation report.
This season, Dugger has appeared in all seven games [making four starts] while compiling 17 total tackles. Due to his preseason and early-season struggles, the former Pats’ team captain has been the subject of both trade and release rumors — the former of which are expected to continue up to the NFL’s
Throughout his five-plus seasons in Foxborough, Dugger has appeared in 81 regular season games, making 69 starts. He also started his only playoff appearance in 2021. The Decatur, Georgia native has compiled 441 total tackles, nine interceptions and two fumble recoveries, while scoring three defensive touchdowns. His extensive knowledge of the Patriots playbook made him the logical choice to serve as their starter with veteran Jaylinn Hawkins being sidelined for the past two games with a hamstring injury.
Despite having just been signed by the Patriots on Oct. 15, defensive back Richie Grant’s elevation from the practice squad may indicate that he is likely to inherit some of the reps normally allotted to Dugger. The veteran safety was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason but was released prior to the start of the season. Throughout his four seasons in the NFL, the 6’0” 200-pound defensive back has played in 67 games with 33 starts and has accumulated 264 total tackles, three sacks, three interceptions, 17 passes-defensed and 11 special teams tackles.
The Patriots may also turn to second-year defensive back Dell Pettus, perhaps the more-likely choice to receive Dugger’s reps. Pettus has logged 10 total tackles, one forced fumble and one run-stuff in reserve duty this season.
BROWNS INACTIVES:
QB Shedeur Sanders
CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse
S Damontae Kazee
RB Raheim Sanders
G Zack Zinter
T Cornelius Lucas
DT Adin Huntington
Hopeful Pete Carroll Replacement Turned Down Record-Breaking Raiders Contract
The Las Vegas Raiders still seem to believe that head coach Pete Carroll can turn the team around. However, even if he does, he’s 74 years old, so the team can’t expect him to coach beyond the three-year contract he signed in the offseason.
There was talk of the Raiders hiring a young coach on the staff who they could groom to potentially be Carroll’s successor when he retires. Right now, there isn’t an obvious candidate on the staff who looks ready to be a head coach.
Things were almost different. The team was eyeing a possible successor in the offseason, but was turned down. Apparently, the Raiders really wanted to hire former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh to be their defensive coordinator, according to Mike Silver of The Athletic.
“Saleh was even more in demand last January as a potential defensive coordinator, but he made it clear that if he didn’t get a head coaching job, he was overwhelmingly partial to returning to the 49ers. That conviction held even when the Raiders, after hiring 73-year-old Pete Carroll, offered Saleh a record-breaking contract to become the team’s defensive coordinator, with the understanding that he’d be in line to succeed Carroll as head coach.”
Carroll & Saleh Have Worked Together Before
It likely wasn’t easy for Saleh to outright turn Carroll down. The two worked together when the former was a defensive quality control coach with the Seattle Seahawks from 2011 to 2013. That job helped springboard him to more important jobs.
Saleh ended up getting hired by the San Francisco 49ers, which is looking like the right decision. That team is a well-oiled machine, and with the way he’s having that defense play this season, he could get another head coaching job next year.
That’s better than him waiting until Carroll retires to be a head coach again. It would be interesting to see what Saleh could do with the Raiders’ defense. Patrick Graham is a well-regarded defensive coordinator, but he’s having a hard time winning with the personnel that he has.
Would Saleh Have Been Right Coach for Raiders?
If the Raiders thought Saleh had long-term upside as the head coach, they could’ve hired him in the offseason. He was a free agent and likely would’ve taken a head coaching job over a coordinator job, even if it wasn’t the most desirable head coaching job.
Saleh would’ve been a great choice at defensive coordinator. He may be better-suited to balance his own scheme with what Carroll likes to do than Graham. That said, it’s fair to question if he’d be the right head coach.
Saleh’s clearly a great defensive mind, but he just went 20-36 as the head coach of the Jets. Granted, it seems like the Jets have bigger issues than at head coach, but the Raiders might want somebody who didn’t fail at trying to turn around a struggling franchise.
While Carroll’s early days in the position haven’t looked good, he does have a track record for turning programs around. Saleh may have been a solid successor in the future, but he wasn’t the right coach for the team right now.
