Four o’clock Eastern came and went in Pittsburgh, PA today and with it went the potential long-term deal for Steelers’ Outside Linebacker Bud Dupree. What this means in the short term is quite simple; Dupree will earn over $15 million for the 2020 season. For the long run however, it likely means the end of his time as a Steeler.
Why It Could Go Up
Dupree and his agent recently filed an appeal with the NFLPA suggesting he should be listed as a Defensive End rather than Linebacker. Should Dupree be successful, his tag would go up about $2 million meaning he’d earn around $17 million for the season. Brooke Pryor of ESPN recently tweeted out Dupree may have a good argument in this regard. This does not in any way affect his current situation. He and the Steelers still cannot reach a long-term deal.
The Writing on the Wall
So why won’t Bud Dupree be in Pittsburgh after this season? It comes down to a couple of things. Let’s first remember that Dupree had largely ‘underwhelmed’ in his first four seasons following his selection as a first round pick. He recorded sack totals of 4, 4.5, 6 and 5.5 before getting 11.5 last season.
Kevin Colbert and the Steelers cannot be blamed for being concerned about Dupree for the long run. Was his big season simply due to the fact he knew he was playing for a potentially big payday? Were his sack totals up because so much attention was paid to T.J. Watt? Frankly, it doesn’t matter. It is clear after today that Colbert, Mike Tomlin and company were confident enough in him to reach a long-term deal.
Of course more importantly were the other guys who have pay days coming as well. T.J. Watt has to be licking his chops after seeing Myles Garrett sign a five-year $125 million deal today with the Browns. To suggest Watt won’t get somewhere in that neighborhood would be ridiculous as his numbers are very much on par or better than Garrett’s.
But Watt isn’t the only one. Cam Heyward is waiting for an extension. A major question mark is JuJu Smith-Schuster. He’s entering the final year of his contract and if his numbers are as expected then he’s going to demand a hefty deal. Whether the Steelers can afford him or not is a whole other question.
Dupree’s fate was likely sealed in those first four seasons. Last year was great for him no doubt, but between others getting paid and wondering what his long-term potential could be was enough for the two sides to not come to an agreement. For our sake, I’m hopeful Dupree plays like he did last year. If the motivation is a huge contract elsewhere? I’m OK with that.
Photo image courtesy post-gazette.com
