Changes to the lineup are inevitable when a team makes a coaching change and one of the potential tweaks in New England involves safety Kyle Dugger.

Dugger was a starter for most of his first five seasons with the Patriots and he’s still listed as a starter on their depth chart, but the unofficial nature of that chart has been made clear by the team’s look in practice. Jabrill Peppers, Jaylinn Hawkins, and Craig Woodson have been the top safeties in recent practices for New England while Dugger works with the second team.

On Wednesday, head coach Mike Vrabel noted that Dugger had offseason ankle surgery and that other players have made a strong case for first-team time while discussing what Dugger has to do in order to climb back up the ladder.

“I think just making sure that he’s where

See Full Page