Patriots Sign Rookie Kyle Dugger, Wrap 2020 NFL Draft Class
The Patriots’ entire 2020 NFL Draft class is now in the fold. The Pats have agreed to terms with second-round safety Kyle Dugger, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). With that, the Pats have become the first team in the league to sign their entire lot of draft picks.
Although he was a second round choice, Dugger was the first player chosen by the Patriots at No. 37 overall. Evaluators around the league were high on the Division-II Lenoir-Rhyne product, even though most fans weren’t familiar with him.
Dugger definitely isn’t your average rookie – he’s already 24 and he comes to the Patriots with only seven games worth of footage from 2019, thanks to a hand injury. He was, however, a second-team All-American last year, and the Pats like his upside.
Here’s the full breakdown of the Patriots’ 2020 draft class, via PFR’s tracker:
2-37: Kyle Dugger, S (Lenoir-Rhyne): Signed
2-60: Josh Uche, LB (Michigan): Signed
3-87: Anfernee Jennings, OLB (Alabama): Signed
3-91: Devin Asiasi, TE (UCLA): Signed
3-101: Dalton Keene, TE (Virginia Tech): Signed
5-159: Justin Rohrwasser, K (Marshall): Signed
6-182: Michael Onwenu, G (Michigan)
6-195: Justin Herron, T (Wake Forest): Signed
6-204: Cassh Maluia, LB (Wyoming): Signed
7-230: Dustin Woodard, C (Memphis): Signed
Cowboys’ Aldon Smith Reinstated By NFL
The NFL has granted reinstatement to Aldon Smith, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). Smith will be allowed to join the Cowboys virtual offseason program next week, as NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets, and he’ll be on course to join his new team in Week 1. 
The Cowboys surprised everyone when they agreed to sign Smith in April. The edge rusher hasn’t played in an NFL game since the 2015 campaign, but the Cowboys were encouraged by his sobriety and excited about his potential. Smith is a former All-Pro and when he was on top of his game, he was among the league’s very best defenders.
“I would say first-hand that I know that [Smith] is very diligent in his work to do the things the NFL looks at to reinstate,” Jones said in April. “I wouldn’t dare get into where the league is and how they will go about this process … [but] as a league, we really are bent toward the medical aspect of many of these problems or many of these things that have been in consideration when a player has to have some type of suspension. We’ve made it more medically oriented to where you can have good grades from doctors, and that weighs into being a player in the NFL.”
In his first two pro seasons with the Niners, Smith registered 33.5 sacks, including a league-leading 19.5 sacks in 2012. And, even when he was limited to just eleven contests in 2013, he still managed 8.5 sacks.
The Cowboys believe that Smith’s off-the-field trouble is behind him. That’s a good thing, because his rap sheet won’t give him much wiggle room if he runs into any issues. Smith has been arrested for DUI and suspended for substance abuse policy violations on multiple occasions. The Cowboys, of course, have been willing to dole out second and third chances to talented players like Smith, and they’ve gotten mixed results. The hope is that Smith will follow through on his vow to stay clean, and that he’ll be joined by Randy Gregory, who is also making his case to Roger Goodell.
Patriots, S Patrick Chung Agree To Extension
The Patriots and safety Patrick Chung have agreed to an extension, as ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter). Chung had been signed through the 2021 season, and the extension will keep him under club control through 2023.
As part of the new deal, the 32-year-old will land a $3MM signing bonus and can earn up to $12.8MM over the next four seasons. As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes, however, New England’s primary motivation was to obtain some cap relief. The Pats squeezed out just $925K of cap room, but they were working with just $600K before. And it should be enough to get their top draft pick from this year’s class, Kyle Dugger, under contract.
The Patriots selected Chung in the second round of the 2009 draft, and he has spent all but one year of his career with New England, starting 112 of a possible 141 regular season games and collecting three Super Bowl rings. Though he has never made the Pro Bowl, he and fellow safety Devin McCourty have brought stability and cohesiveness to the back end of New England’s defense, and head coach Bill Belichick has often expressed his appreciation for Chung’s play. And Chung has said Belichick is the only coach he will ever play for.
Today’s move marks the fifth straight year in which the Pats have given Chung a pay raise, as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe observes (Twitter link). But while the Patriots’ defense as a whole was rock solid in 2019, the advanced metrics indicated that Chung’s personal performance declined from his 2018 levels, and the Oregon product may cede some snaps to Dugger in 2020. As such, it’s far from certain that Chung makes it to 2021 with New England, let alone 2023, but after contemplating retirement — as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets — Chung will definitely be back in Foxborough this season.
In the piece linked above, Reiss passes along details of the extension. In addition to his signing bonus, Chung will earn a $1.1MM base salary in 2020 and will be able to earn up to $800K in per-game roster bonuses and a $100K workout bonus. In the subsequent three seasons, he stands to take home a base salary of $1.9MM with $400K in per-game roster bonuses, $200K in incentives, and a $100K annual workout bonus.
Chung was indicted for felony drug possession in August, but those charges were later dropped. He could still face discipline from the league, but there have been no reports on that front as of today’s date.
NFL Draft Signings: 5/19/20
We’ll keep track of today’s draft signings here:
- The Eagles signed sixth-round offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho, per a club announcement. He grew up in Nigeria with hopes of coming to the United States to play basketball at a high level. Now, the Auburn product has a four-year deal to play professional football. Wanogho was unable to show his stuff at the combine due to a knee injury and didn’t get a chance to showcase at his pro day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That likely hurt his stock, but it worked out just fine for the Eagles, who scored a promising 6’5″, 300-pound lineman at No. 210 overall.
Raiders Waive CB Nick Nelson
On Monday, the Raiders officially announced their signing of cornerback Prince Amukamara. To make room on the roster, they waived fellow corner Nick Nelson with a failed-physical designation.
Nelson was cut with a failed physical designation, bringing his Raiders run to a close after just two years. Nelson was a fourth-round pick of the (then Oakland) Raiders in 2018 and saw time in ten games as a rookie. Last year, however, he spent most of his time on the practice squad. Jon Gruden called him up to the varsity squad ahead of Week 15, but he landed on injured reserve before the season finale.
Unfortunately, Nelson is no stranger to the injury bug. Just weeks before the draft, Nelson suffered a torn meniscus during a private workout for an NFL club. The Raiders still used a fourth-round choice on the 5’11” Wisconsin product, believing that his coverage skills would translate to the pro game and make up for his stature.
If Nelson goes unclaimed in the next 24 hours, he’ll be free to sign with any team. If he gets picked up, his new team will be on the hook for the two remaining years on his deal.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/18/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: LB Martrell Spaight
Spaight joined the Chiefs early on in 2019 as a reserve/future signing but retired abruptly last May. Now that KC released him from the reserve/retired list, he’ll be free to sign with another club, if that’s what he’s looking to do. A fifth-round pick of the Redskins back in 2015, Spaight suited up in 30 games before moving on to the Jaguars and Dolphins in 2018. His most productive season came in 2017 when he saw time in 15 games (including six starts) and tallied 75 stops.
NFL Draft Signings: 5/18/20
We’ll keep track of today’s later round draft signings here:
- The Lions agreed to terms with sixth-round defensive tackle John Penisini, according to agent David Canter (Twitter link). Penisini specializes in stopping the run, though he did tally a handful of sacks from the interior while at Utah. Now, he’ll look to make the 53-man roster cut as a supporting cast member behind projected starters Danny Shelton and John Atkins.
NFL Draft Signings: 5/17/20
We’ll keep track of today’s draft signings here:
- The Lions announced the signing of fourth-round guard Logan Stenberg. The Kentucky product made 39 consecutive starts in college, finished with first-team All-SEC honors, and did not allow a single sack in 2019. With Detroit, he’ll be a part of the rotation on the interior, though he’ll also have to vie with fellow rookie Jonah Jackson, a third-round pick. For now, the Lions project to lead with some combination of veterans Oday Aboushi, Joe Dahl, and Kenny Wiggins.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: RB De’Lance Turner
Saints Sign RB Ty Montgomery
The Saints will add to their running back room by signing Ty Montgomery. The former Packers, Ravens and Jets back agreed to a deal with New Orleans on Friday, Nick Underhill of New Orleans.Football tweets. The Saints announced the move.
Montgomery has experience as a wide receiver and running back and operated as the Jets’ kick returner last season. He will join Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray with the Saints.
Being permitted to wear No. 88 despite switching to running back years ago, Montgomery profiles as an interesting utility piece for a team that has gotten considerable mileage from this type of player in recent years. The former third-round pick out of Stanford moved to running back in 2016 — his second NFL season — and averaged 5.9 yards per carry that year. He also caught 44 passes for 348 yards in 2016. However, Montgomery has not contributed much statistically beyond that season.
The Packers interestingly opened the 2017 season with Montgomery starting ahead of then-rookies Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams but traded Montgomery to the Ravens after a fumble on a kick return led to a Green Bay loss to the Rams. And he saw little time with Baltimore. Last year, the Jets gave him 32 carries.
That said, Montgomery is still just 27, has a career 4.6 yards-per-carry average and posted a 900-plus-yard receiving season in college. Montgomery compiled back-to-back 61-reception seasons to close his Cardinal career. The Saints, who also did not draft a wideout, are listing Montgomery as a running back.
It would seem likely New Orleans views Montgomery as more of an offensive weapon, considering the team just saw Deonte Harris become an All-Pro returner last season. Harris, whom the Associated Press named as its All-Pro punt returner, functioned as the Saints’ kick returner as well.
In a corresponding move, the Saints waived tight end Mitchell Loewen.