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FOXBOROUGH – On the awkward meter, seeing both Kyle Dugger and Anfernee Jennings in the Patriots locker room Wednesday registered a ten.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s Andrew Callahan.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Dugger, a veteran safety, looked old and slow. Jennings, meanwhile, wasn\u2019t a scheme fit at linebacker.<\/p>\n
So the writing was on the wall.<\/p>\n
And yet, they\u2019re still here pretending like none of that ever happened. They\u2019re here, acting like it wasn\u2019t a big deal that the Patriots no longer wanted them.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, people had made that aware to me,\u201d Dugger said of the trade talk. \u201cBut I try to stay the same. I try to stay neutral. I don\u2019t have much to say about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ditto Jennings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear it. But I just focus on what I can control,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s showing up here every day, going to work. That\u2019s my focus right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reality is, they still might not be here for long. The Patriots still might part with one or both.<\/p>\n
The reason no deals got done before the deadline?<\/p>\n
Dugger\u2019s contract was a major factor. The recent four-year, $58 million extension he signed was a deal breaker, especially if the Patriots weren\u2019t going to pick up part or most of it.<\/p>\n
And why would anyone trade for Jennings, if they suspected he might be cut?<\/p>\n
So both hit the field Wednesday for the team\u2019s padded practice. Such is life in the NFL, or New England, where nothing has been easy in recent years.<\/p>\n
In the end, perhaps the biggest factor why both were kept on the roster was the roster itself.<\/p>\n
Barren of talent, the Patriots couldn\u2019t afford to part with two proven NFL players.<\/p>\n
Even as backups, if that\u2019s what they\u2019re relegated to being, Dugger and Jennings are quality backups where none exist over most of the roster.<\/p>\n
At this point, both players just want to put blinders on to the past, and put their best foot forward. Jennings said it\u2019s just a matter of being a professional.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to control what I can control. Do my job, show up every day,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cI\u2019m just excited to get ready to start working on an opponent and game planning and be ready to go get a win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jennings missed a few practices, and didn\u2019t play in the final preseason game due to an apparent leg injury. But he was ready to go Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Both Jennings and Dugger have been adjusting to a new system.<\/p>\n
Jennings, however, doesn\u2019t see it being an issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, I\u2019m a ballplayer. I\u2019m going to show up. I\u2019m going to do my job. That\u2019s that,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople have their own opinions. All I can do control what I can control, and that\u2019s going out there and doing my job, playing the way the team needs me to play, and playing to my capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dugger said whether it\u2019s his health, or the understanding playbook, he\u2019s just trying to get better every day.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he can help us, and obviously, find a role,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cWe talk to him about that, have talked to him about that. We\u2019ll continue to talk to him about that and provide value to the football team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dugger did play well against the New York Giants, and their subs. But he\u2019s still not quite back to being himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have a lot of ways I can improve. That\u2019s how I think about it,\u201d Dugger said. \u201cI ain\u2019t really trying to put no ceiling, no limit, anything. I\u2019m just trying to get better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether there\u2019s hard feelings or not given the perception the Patriots didn\u2019t want them, staying in New England was better than the alternative.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cAt the end of the day, at heart, I\u2019m a Patriot. I love being out here. I love playing. I\u2019m looking forward to the season.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After being on the trade block, Kyle Dugger and Anfernee Jennings deal with awkwardness of still being Patriots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":84694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n