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The New England Patriots were busy on Tuesday night when they traded Keion White to the San Francisco 49ers and Kyle Dugger to the Pittsburgh Steelers. White was a healthy scratch in New England’s 32-13 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 8. He had six tackles in five games played. White’s playing time became inconsistent over the course of this season. Dugger didn’t see a whole lot of playing time in the Patriots’ first five games and was inactive last week due to a knee injury. Here’s how NFL experts graded both trades: Kyle Dugger The Athletic “This was a salary dump, one the Patriots had been eying for months. By shipping out Dugger and edge rusher Keion White on Tuesday, the new regime offloaded a couple Bill Belichick picks who weren’t part of the current or long-term plans. With a 6-2 record, it’s a lot easier to make these types of decisions.” Grade: C+ ESPN “The Patriots had phased out Dugger from the lineup, as he really played only when Jaylinn Hawkins sat out time. Currently, we don’t know exactly how much cap relief they are getting, but it seems as if they’re getting at least some for a player that coach Mike Vrabel doesn’t seem to want. That seems fine, particularly given the price of Dugger’s contract in 2026 meant that he was certainly going to be cut if he remained in New England.” Grade: B Sports Illustrated With Dugger not in the mix, the Patriots were wise to hold on to him until the right trade offer. New England now has two extra sixth-round picks after shipping Dugger and White to different teams and could potentially flip those to help their first-place team before the Nov. 4 trade deadline. Grade: B Keion White Sports Illutrated “The Patriots were pleased with their current defensive front, which drastically improved with the arrival of prized free-agent defensive tackle Milton Williams. New England lacks a star edge rusher, but has gotten steady contributions from Harold Landry III and K’Lavon Chaisson. “Maybe the picks New England gained in the trades for White and Dugger will be used to land a notable edge rusher before next week’s trade deadline. If they don’t, the Patriots will at least have more draft picks to continue adding players that align with their coaching philosophy.” Grade: B The Athletic “Coach Mike Vrabel is navigating an interesting course, trading both White and safety Kyle Dugger on Tuesday. Neither was contributing enough this season to be missed the rest of the way. “It’s also important for Vrabel and his staff to keep their eyes on the future. They’re exceeding expectations right now and are shaping up to be a tough out in the playoffs, but there’s a lot of work to be done on the roster over the long term. Dugger and White weren’t going to be part of those plans, so Vrabel and company are handling the balancing act of winning now while continuing to focus on the future.” Grade: C+ ESPN “White fell out of favor in the Patriots and was a healthy scratch last week. But he has inside-outside flexibility and his career numbers, particularly as an interior rusher, have been somewhat impressive on a per-snap basis. As an interior lineman, White has managed a 13.6% pass rush win rate and a 9.6% pressure rate, with most of those snaps coming the previous two seasons. Those numbers would be solidly above average for an interior player. White plays more frequently on the edge, but in an unusual quirk, his numbers are not as strong there.” Grade: C-
