Through this space, our readers learned before anyone else, a month ago today, that the Steelers were hopeful about bringing back Bud Dupree if he'd be cut by the Titans. Then, also through this space, our readers learned before anyone else, a couple weeks ago and after he'd been cut, that Dupree's equally hopeful for the same. And now, this week, after Dupree hit free agency, I can share that the two parties are engaged in talks aimed at a return.
That's it. All I've got. But it'd sure be something if it comes to pass.
MORE STEELERS
• No amount of talking will go far until management's satisfied that Dupree's healthy. There's no reason, health aside, this deal shouldn't get done, though it's always possible, of course, that another team could swoop in with a significantly better offer. I'll remind: This is the big remaining need in free agency. They're not about to draft an edge rusher up high, not with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith starting.
• The most recent transaction on the roster, the retention of James Pierre, has the salary cap space at $10.9 million, pretty much where it was before Minkah Fitzpatrick's restructure and the other resultant signings over the past few days. That's ample space for Dupree and more. Never mind that T.J. and others could still be restructured.
• Terrell Edmunds, who bid a fond farewell to the Steelers and Pittsburgh in an Instagram post yesterday, did so because he fully expects to sign with another team soon, I'm told. That said, I can share here now that Edmunds had told me countless times over the course of the past NFL season that he wanted nothing more than to remain in Pittsburgh and, in fact, had accepted his lesser offer from the Steelers last spring -- one year, $2,537,500 -- primarily so that he could prove to management here that he was worth more.
• Man, he'll be missed. By a lot of people on South Water Street. Don't underestimate this one. He never generated the splash anyone would've sought from a first-rounder, but he was as team-first as anyone, and his durability and toughness in competing through pain was beyond compare in that locker room. That's not routinely replaced.
• If the entire football world was stunned by the signing of Isaac Seumalo, a legit top-10 guard in the NFL, imagine how Kevin Dotson felt. And make no mistake: Dotson's the one on the outs in this scenario. There won't be any 2022 starters switching positions, and the Steelers absolutely aren't asking Seumalo to switch to tackle, the position that'd appear to be a more glaring need given the inconsistencies of Dan Moore. This was, plain and simple, Seumalo in place of Dotson. And if anyone's going to be challenged to provide more versatility, now in a depth role, it'll be Dotson and/or Moore, depending on how the NFL Draft plays out.
• Do not rule out a return for Myles Jack at some markedly lower price. Management loved him, and he fit well with the defense. The only non-fit was the $11.25 million cap hit. It only makes sense that the Steelers would want to wait to see how the draft unfolds before revisiting Jack.
• I'm still feeling defensive line at No. 17. Just too many signs, and they're only mounting.
PENGUINS
• Tristan Jarry's brittle at best, soft at worst. And that's likely the fairest description possible for his latest injury, the one that, out of nowhere, kept him out of the Penguins' 3-2 loss last night in Dallas. Less than 24 hours earlier, he'd been terrific in Denver, even had a little fun late in that one in trying to score into an empty net, then sat at his stall and met with reporters afterward. The next day, management's panicking in summoning Dustin Tokarski to fly from Wilkes-Barre (Newark, actually) to Texas to serve as Casey DeSmith's backup. No specifics were given beyond Mike Sullivan calling it "a lower-body injury," including whether or not it was new or a recurrence. But the last one was "upper body." And the one before that was "lower body." That's how these go. Jarry's got zero defenders on this front, notably those speaking on the team's behalf. Been that way all season.
• For anyone caring to posit whether the Penguins are rushing Jarry back from any of these injuries, I'd casually counter that none of these issues get labeled as recurrences. None of them. Each one's new. As is this one.
• Here's a stunner: There's been no movement toward a Jarry extension, even though he's up this summer.
• And the same, most unfortunately, applies to Jason Zucker, though it's expected there'll be an approach on that front after the season.
• I've heard no specifics on Marcus Pettersson's injury, but I've heard definitively that none of Pettersson, Dmitry Kulikov or Jan Rutta are seen as having season-threatening injuries. Meaning they could return by playoffs.
• Wonderful to see Mario Lemieux's annual fantasy camp conduct its usual business at PPG Paints Arena after spending Monday up in Cranberry. Better yet will be when he and Ron Burkle can mend fences with the Fenway Sports Group and get 66 back involved to the extent he's advising on this franchise's next step. And that's squarely on FSG as the principal owner.
• Anytime I'll broach with anyone on the inside the subject of FSG's relative invisibility in the Penguins' world, at least from my own eyes, they'll bite back that there are actually FSG people around and then something about possible changes after the season. But I'm placing this bullet last here for the simple reason that I'll believe this -- or that FSG people even exist -- only once I see it for myself.
PIRATES
• Travis Williams' interview with our Alex Stumpf yesterday in Bradenton, Fla., didn't drop any bombshells, but he might ruffle a few feathers with his remark, when asked to explain the absence of PiratesFest this past winter: "What we ultimately decided is our most loyal, dedicated fans — our season ticket holders — didn't have those interactions, so we really focused on events where they had the ability to reengage with our players, because they missed out on that and they remained committed to us." I'm here to share three thoughts on that: 1. He's totally right. The customers that invest the most in a product are seen that way by only every company on the planet. 2. Remaining committed through consecutive 100-loss seasons ain't easy. 3. And this is the Insider-ish portion: I've been told that the Pirates' base of full-season plans, meaning all 81 games, numbers in the low hundreds. That has to come up. That has to be the priority.
• Jack Suwinski's making this 26-man roster. No spring performance, either that of Suwinski or anyone such as Travis Swaggerty or Canaan Smith-Njigba who might be out-Grapefruiting-him down there. Doesn't matter. Management's of the mind that 19 home runs in 106 games is deserving of a legit longer look. Besides, there's a sense that Suwinski's new open stance will help unlock more general productivity once he's more comfortable with it.
• Pressure on Derek Shelton for the first time to deliver real results? Oh, you bet. Wait and watch.
• Andrew McCutchen's greatest weapon as an MVP in Pittsburgh was his bat speed. There wasn't a pitch he couldn't hit because he'd always be able to get around. Well, that wasn't as much the case in Philadelphia or Milwaukee and, in fact, that'd become a common criticism in those cities. He's aware of it. He doesn't like it. He disagrees with it. And one can imagine that, every time he knocks one out, as he did this week in Bradenton with a rocket to right-center, he'll beam exactly the way he did the other day. Good for him. Very much who he is.
• Six days till Cincinnati. And that's special on several fronts, but chief among them is that it's the only city where Major League Baseball's opening day is an actual holiday. Businesses close. Schools close. There's a big parade through downtown. It's fabulous, for anyone who's never experienced it. And that goes for the participants, too. They'll reminisce even years later about what it's like. Well worth a trip.
• Thanks for reading Insider. The next one will come with the above dateline.
