The Patriots are placing the transition tag on impending free-agent safety Kyle Dugger, a source confirmed to the Herald.

The transition tag costs $13.81 million and means the Patriots have right of first refusal if another team offers Dugger a contract. If the Patriots were to lose Dugger to a contract offer from another team, they would receive no compensation, barring a trade.

The Patriots now cannot place a tag on impending free-agent offensive lineman Mike Onwenu, who is expected to represent himself this offseason after firing his agents.

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Dugger has been a key cog in the Patriots defense since being selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Lenoir-Rhyne. He primarily played strong safety in his first three NFL season before splitting his time between the box role he had settled into and free safety when Devin McCourty retired last offseason.

A source told the Herald last week at the NFL Scouting Combine that Dugger was expected to garner an average salary of $12-to-$16 million per year. His $13.81 million salary falls in line with that amount.

Dugger, who will turn 28 later this month, has 343 career tackles with nine interceptions, three touchdowns, 20 pass breakups, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 2.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and nine QB hits in 61 games with 52 starts.

The Patriots also have Jabrill Peppers under contract at safety. Jalen Mills is set to hit free agency next week, and the Patriots released veteran safety Adrian Phillips last month.

Dugger’s tag will reduce the Patriots’ salary cap space from their previous figure of over $100 million. Miguel Benzan, or @PatsCap on X, projects the Patriots to have $87,696,056 million remaining in salary cap room.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo and de facto general manager Eliot Wolf both said last week that keeping Dugger and Onwenu was a priority for the team.

“I would say last year going into the season there were some questions about, ‘can he communicate and all those…’ He squashed all of that this year,” Mayo said of Dugger. “He did a fantastic job in his new role without having Devin there.

“So you definitely want those pieces to stay. You develop through the draft. So if those guys stay, obviously, they’ve been raised here and they can help push the culture forward.”

“We definitely want to keep Mike and Kyle,” Wolf said. “We’re hopeful to continue to work with with Kyle’s agent and Mike to make that happen.”

The Patriots had extended an offer to Dugger, who was expected to test free agency before receiving the transition tag. Now Dugger and the team can continue to work towards agreeing to a contract extension that would keep him with the Patriots long-term.

The Patriots last used a tag in 2020 on guard Joe Thuney. He played the entire season on the franchise tag before departing for the Chiefs in free agency the next season. They also used the franchise tag in 2002 on kicker Adam Vinatieri, 2003 on safety Tebucky Jones, 2005 on Vinatieri, 2007 on cornerback Asante Samuel, 2009 on quarterback Matt Cassel, 2010 on defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, 2011 on guard Logan Mankins, 2012 on wide receiver Wes Welker and 2015 on kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

Dugger is the first NFL player to receive the transition tag since running back Kenyan Drake was tagged in 2020. Only four players have received the transition tag this decade.