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Patriots Will Have To Clear Some Cap Space To Sign Kyle Dugger

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots reportedly agreed to a deal with third-round pick Dalton Keene on Monday, leaving just one 2020 draft pick left unsigned: New England's top pick, Kyle Dugger.

But in order to sign the second-round selection, the Patriots are going to have to make another move to fit the safety/return man under the salary cap.

As explained by Patriots salary cap guru Miguel Benzan -- better known as @patscap on Twitter -- the Patriots need to create roughly $300,000 in cap space to sign their top pick:

Teams usually don't have all their picks signed until the middle of June, so the Patriots don't have to rush to sign Dugger at the moment. And Bill Belichck and company will have a few options to clear the needed cap space, whether it's releasing a player, signing someone to an extension, or restructuring a contract.

The Patriots could sign offensive tackle Joe Thuney, whom the Patriots hit with the franchise tag this offseason, to an extension to free up cap space.

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