2020 Steelers Season Recall: Bud Dupree tendered with franchise tag
Steel City Underground presents our 2020 Steelers Recall: a look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games and storylines from last season.
Around this very time last year there was a buzz surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers and one player in particular: outside linebacker Bud Dupree.
On the cusp of free agency, Dupree had played out his fifth season with the Steelers, following a fifth-year option as a former first round draft pick. This scheduled the linebacker to become an unrestricted free agent, unless the Steelers would opt to use a franchise tag on their rising star.
But how? The Steelers were supposedly in “salary cap hell” as the start of the 2020 league year loomed on the horizon.
Some shifty moves with restructures and extensions, plus a few cap casualties in players being released (such as Mark Barron) created enough space to make room for Dupree’s $15.8 million cap hit under the franchise tag.
The move came as a bit of a surprise for some, as speculation circled as to whether or not the Steelers would be able or willing to use the tag; or workout a long-term deal. While the latter never occurred, Dupree would eventually sign his tender just ahead of the NFL Draft, putting to rest any rumors of a holdout.
For Pittsburgh, this step was an important one in securing their top-rated defense, which had previously led the league in sacks over the previous three seasons. Dupree entered the league in 2015 in an outside linebacker rotation with then starters Jarvis Jones and James Harrison, as well as Arthur Moats. He would appear in all 16 games, accumulating four sacks but only playing 51% of the defensive snaps.
He would start the 2016 season on the Injured Reserve list, unable to return until Week 11, where he entered that game for a single snap, then eased into the defense again playing 55 of 123 snaps over the following two weeks before taking on a full-time role opposite Harrison.
“Bud” would rack up 4.5 sacks in his limited time.
However, despite playing only 30% of the snaps and starting only four games, in addition to being in a rotation the previous year, critics started to label Dupree’s slow start a “bust”. The moniker was unfair but followed him into the 2017 season where he improved to six sacks on the season, but regressed to a half sack lower in 2018.
Most of his detractors didn’t want to see the team use a fifth-year option, a pseudo franchise tag to extend former first round picks and their rookie contract an additional season, as it would pay $9.2 million, up from his $1.7m earned and $2.9 cap hit the previous season.
The Steelers knew best, and Dupree rewarded their loyalty, forming one of the fiercest pass-rushing duos in the league with counterpart T.J. Watt. He would surge to an 11.5 sack explosion in 2019, including four forced fumbles – double his career totals over the previous four campaigns.
Dupree was making monumental strides once again in 2020, picking up eight sacks and two forced fumbles through eleven games before suffering a torn ACL in Week 12 and missing the remainder of the season.
With news that the franchise deadline has now passed without Dupree being tagged by the Steelers, he is once again scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent – one who appears to bank big on a new deal.
Pittsburgh has expressed their interest in wanting to retain Bud Dupree long-term, during both last year’s negotiations and subsequent tag, and also prior to informing the linebacker that they weren’t using the tag again on him this season.
Unfortunately, the use of a tag wasn’t a choice: the Steelers imply cannot afford the estimated $19 million guaranteed that the tender would come with. Yet, there is still an outside chance they can work a deal with a lower upfront cap hit for 2021, and larger money spread out over the following seasons of a new contract.
Regardless, this situation one year ago should serve as a reminder of those naysayers who felt the Dupree franchise tag was a bad business deal for the Steelers – should the two end up working out a new deal or not, that didn’t turn out to be the case.
