Kyle Dugger makes honest admission after signing with Bengals, and two plays prove why he’s in Cincinnati
Kyle Dugger is excited to join the Cincinnati Bengals after two years of constant change. The Bengals should be just as excited considering the plays he’s made against them during that same timeframe.
New Cincinnati Bengals safety Kyle Dugger is amped up to be on his third team in the last six months. The former second-round pick was traded from the New England Patriots to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the middle of the 2025 season.
Now that he’s in the Queen City, the 30-year old Dugger is looking forward to a fresh start.
“Fresh start and a new opportunity. I’m excited for it,” Dugger told Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson. “It’s been a rough two years. I’m thankful where I am.”
Being traded from his original team wasn’t the only hurdle in Dugger’s path over the last two years. New England moved on from head coach Bill Belichick and promoted Jerod Mayo in 2024, leading to a down year fresh off signing a four-year, $58 million extension with the club. Mayo was then replaced by Mike Vrabel, and Dugger only got to play in eight games before being sent off the eventual AFC champions.
Change has been constant in Dugger’s life over the last 24 months, but he isn’t the only party benefitting from his arrival.
Bengals can now be on the positive end of Kyle Dugger’s playmaking ways
It’s not uncommon for the Bengals to acquire players who’ve given them fits in the past. Mike Hilton, another former Steelers defensive back, is one of many to have made plays against Cincinnati before donning the orange and black themselves.
Despite Dugger’s struggles over the last two years, two of his best plays hurt the Bengals.
In Week 1 of the 2024 season, it was Dugger who forced Tanner Hudson‘s fumble at the goal line, ultimately helping the Patriots win one of their only four games on the year, and ensuring another slow start for Cincinnati.
Fast forward a year and two months. It’s Week 11 of the 2025 season, and Dugger is playing his third game with Pittsburgh since being traded. The Bengals are trying to take the lead in a one-score contest, and Joe Flacco throws a pick-six from the opposing 35-yard line.
Right to Dugger himself.
Self-scouting is how Cincinnati found some of the best plays of Dugger’s career. It’s no wonder why he became a target of the club’s weeks into free agency.
“Those things you really can’t coach,” safeties coach Jordan Kovacs said. “They’re just good football players who have experience. That’s what this guy is. He’ll push those guys as he carves a role.”
“Those guys” being incumbent starting safety Jordan Battle, and reserves PJ Jules and Daijahn Anthony. Dugger has 78 starts to his name and was once considered a building block for a Belichick-style defense. For him to sign with a team weeks before the draft indicates a notable role is definitely on the table for him.
The Bengals will gladly let him run with one if he makes these kinds of plays for them instead of against them this year.
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