There will be no reunion between the Steelers and linebacker Bud Dupree, the team's 2015 first-found draft pick.
Dupree is heading elsewhere as a free agent, with news breaking Friday morning of his next stop. The Georgia native is returning home.
Falcons to sign LB Bud Dupree to a 1-year deal worth up to $5M. (via @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/DXO1cchUrQ
— NFL (@NFL) April 14, 2023
Dupree spent his first six NFL seasons with the Steelers (2015-20), then spent the past two seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He was released by that club March 16.
Two weeks later, Dupree was in Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers. But that visit did not result in him getting a contract with the team, which many expected might occur.
If the Steelers were going to sign the 30-year-old Dupree, one would have thought it would have happened by now. So, at this point, the news of him going somewhere else probably shouldn't have been a surprise.
What really happened here? The following seems to be the best answer, since playing on a one-year deal would give Dupree a chance at a bigger contract if he has a strong bounce-back year.
The Steelers were heavily in the mix on a Bud Dupree deal but Dupree preferred a one-year deal. Steelers prefer two-year deals on contracts of substance. So, Dupree is off to Atlanta, as @ZachKleinWSB said.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 14, 2023
Dupree was the 22nd overall pick in the 2015 draft out Kentucky. He played 23 games (starting nine) his first two seasons and was a contributor with 50 tackles, 8 1/2 sacks and 10 tackles for loss during that two-year span.
He moved into a full-time starting role in 2017 and remained there for four seasons with the Steelers. His best year came in 2019 when he had 68 tackles (49 solo) with 11 1/2 sackes, 16 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hurries while starting all 16 games.
Dupree was limited to 11 games in 2020, his final season with the Steelers, then signed a five-year contract with the Titans worth $82.5 million.
He was unable to match his production during two injury-plagued seasons with the Titans. He played in 11 games with only six starts in 2021, then started 11 games in 2022. He had only 35 tackles with seven sacks and eight tackles for loss in his two seasons with the Titans.
