Good Monday to you Steelers’ fans!
Wednesday at 4pm ET the Pittsburgh Steelers and EDGE Bud Dupree must have come to terms on a long-term contract or else he will play the season under the Franchise Tag. The tag itself is a bit of a mystery because Dupree recently filed a grievance with the NFLPA. He is arguing that his position should be listed as “Defensive End” rather than “Outside Linebacker.” What’s the big deal you may ask? As an OLB, Dupree would make $15.8 million this coming season but as a DE he would make $17.78. As short as NFL careers are, I don’t blame Dupree for this at all. The argument he and his agent are using has merit too.
Per ?@NextGenStats?, Bud Dupree's defensive positioning at the time of snap last season was EDGE on 827 of his 929 defensive snaps played last season (89%) – the most snaps as EDGE among all Steelers last season (h/t ?@ESPNStatsInfo?) https://t.co/devcp2Mvuf
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) July 11, 2020
Either way, Dupree is going to earn a lot of money this season. Whether the two sides are close on a deal is unknown. My understanding is that I think this is it for him in Pittsburgh. With Cam Heyward likely getting an extension, T.J. Watt getting a monster new deal and a potential deal for JuJu Smith-Schuster, Dupree is likely on the outside looking in. I’ve been wrong before so we’ll see.
Tweet of the Day… As I’ve written many times in this column, this whole thing has been difficult for me to wrap my head around in certain ways but regardless, the Redskins are no more.
Now official: pic.twitter.com/N4Ouq9yXil
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 13, 2020
What’s in a Nickname?
I do not believe we have seen the last of these name changes. They’ve been going on at the high school and collegiate levels for two decades. Blackhawks, Indians, Braves…. All likely to be challenged at some point. We must be careful however to not go too far. Are we going to change ‘Giants’ because a short person is offended? What about ‘Fighting Irish?’ These are perhaps silly examples but I think you understand what I mean.
JuJu to One Million
I’m not talking about money here either… Steelers’ wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster recently hit One Million subscribers on his YouTube channel. This is now the world we live in where athletes have a lot more going on than just playing the game. Some can do it and perform at the highest level while others can’t find the balance. There is no question fans are concerned about JuJu. We saw Antonio Brown become the best wideout in the game only to implode and part of that was his desire to be a social media darling. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about JuJu. My gut tells me he knows what matters but that doesn’t always keep players from doing things they shouldn’t. Right now, I have every expectation that JuJu will be ready to roll for 2020.
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Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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