FOXBOROUGH – On the awkward meter, seeing both Kyle Dugger and Anfernee Jennings in the Patriots locker room Wednesday registered a ten.

The Patriots had worked the phones, trying to trade both players. Swap talk involving those two was in the news for days, first courtesy of the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.

Dugger, who was coming off ankle surgery, played late into preseason games with the scrubs. It was the same for Jennings, which is never a good sign.

Dugger, a veteran safety, looked old and slow. Jennings, meanwhile, wasn’t a scheme fit at linebacker.

So the writing was on the wall.

And yet, they’re still here pretending like none of that ever happened. They’re here, acting like it wasn’t a big deal that the Patriots no longer wanted them.

“Obviously, people had made that aware to me,” Dugger said of the trade talk. “But I try to stay the same. I try to stay neutral. I don’t have much to say about it.”

Ditto Jennings.

“I hear it. But I just focus on what I can control,” Jennings said. “And that’s showing up here every day, going to work. That’s my focus right now.”

The reality is, they still might not be here for long. The Patriots still might part with one or both.

The reason no deals got done before the deadline?

Dugger’s contract was a major factor. The recent four-year, $58 million extension he signed was a deal breaker, especially if the Patriots weren’t going to pick up part or most of it.

And why would anyone trade for Jennings, if they suspected he might be cut?

So both hit the field Wednesday for the team’s padded practice. Such is life in the NFL, or New England, where nothing has been easy in recent years.

In the end, perhaps the biggest factor why both were kept on the roster was the roster itself.

Barren of talent, the Patriots couldn’t afford to part with two proven NFL players.

Even as backups, if that’s what they’re relegated to being, Dugger and Jennings are quality backups where none exist over most of the roster.

At this point, both players just want to put blinders on to the past, and put their best foot forward. Jennings said it’s just a matter of being a professional.

“I try to control what I can control. Do my job, show up every day,” Jennings said. “I’m just excited to get ready to start working on an opponent and game planning and be ready to go get a win.”

Jennings missed a few practices, and didn’t play in the final preseason game due to an apparent leg injury. But he was ready to go Wednesday.

Both Jennings and Dugger have been adjusting to a new system.

Jennings, however, doesn’t see it being an issue.

“At the end of the day, I’m a ballplayer. I’m going to show up. I’m going to do my job. That’s that,” he said. “People have their own opinions. All I can do control what I can control, and that’s going out there and doing my job, playing the way the team needs me to play, and playing to my capabilities.”

Dugger said whether it’s his health, or the understanding playbook, he’s just trying to get better every day.

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel indicated he had seen progress from Dugger, who, at his best, is a heat-seeking missile thumping ball carriers, as well as backs catching the ball out of the backfield.

“I think he can help us, and obviously, find a role,” Vrabel said. “We talk to him about that, have talked to him about that. We’ll continue to talk to him about that and provide value to the football team.”

Dugger did play well against the New York Giants, and their subs. But he’s still not quite back to being himself.

“I still have a lot of ways I can improve. That’s how I think about it,” Dugger said. “I ain’t really trying to put no ceiling, no limit, anything. I’m just trying to get better every day.”

Whether there’s hard feelings or not given the perception the Patriots didn’t want them, staying in New England was better than the alternative.

“It means a lot,” Jennings said. “At the end of the day, at heart, I’m a Patriot. I love being out here. I love playing. I’m looking forward to the season.”