Tag: Bud Dupree

Former Steeler Bud Dupree excited for potential return to Pittsburgh

Bud Dupree was excited when asked about if he’d be willing to come back to Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Steelers could be in the market for an edge defender this offseason and they might have a perfect fit. Veteran Markus Golden is a free agent and Pittsburgh will need to replace him as part of the edge rotation. If Golden isn’t re-signed, former Steeler Bud Dupree would love to have a reunion with his old team.

In an interview, Dupree waxed nostalgic about his time with the Steelers. Dupree talked very positively about head coach Mike Tomlin and many of his former teammates. And then when asked about coming back to the Steelers, showed he’s still a Steeler at heart.

For sure! If the opportunity came up definitely! It’s a great organization and Tomlin – he is who he is. The standard is the standard – for sure I’d go back.

Dupree spent his first six NFL seasons with Pittsburgh before leaving for a big contract with the Tennessee Titans. Dupree was never able to duplicate his top production that he had with the Steelers but could be a valuable addition to the Steelers pass-rushing unit behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.

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Bud Dupree opens up about potential reunion with Mike Tomlin, Steelers

Ex-Steelers EDGE Bud Dupree would love to reunite with Mike Tomlin.

Since the 2021 season, it’s been the T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith Show on the edge of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense.

But a familiar name popped up recently as a guy who would like to return to Pittsburgh: Bud Dupree. If the opportunity presented itself, the free agent would like to give Watt and Highsmith a helping hand.

“For sure,” Dupree said in an interview with Ron Lippock, author of “Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades.”

“If the opportunity came up. Definitely. It’s a great organization and Tomlin – he is who he is. The standard is the standard – for sure, I’d go back.”

There were rumblings of a potential reunion last offseason and the Steelers even brought him in for a visit. Instead, Dupree signed on with the Atlanta Falcons, coached then by Steelers new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

In his time away from Pittsburgh, Dupree has logged 13 sacks, 74 tackles (16 for loss), four defended passes, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 25 quarterback hits in 38 games (33 starts).

That sounds like a guy who’d be perfect to rotate in — something we suggested last month. Of course, the Steelers have newcomer Jeremiah Moon and second-year player Nick Herbig, who are also ready to answer the bell.

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Falcons LB Bud Dupree records 50th career sack

WATCH: Falcons LB Bud Dupree records 50th career sack against the Jets

Falcons linebacker Bud Dupree entered Week 13 with 49.5 career sacks but after taking down Jets quarterback Tim Boyle, Dupree now sits at 50.5 career sacks.

Watch as the veteran edge rusher brings down Boyle in the first quarter of Sunday’s game.

The Falcons trail the Jets, 2-0, in the second quarter of Sunday’s game in New York.

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WATCH: Falcons LB Bud Dupree mic’d up vs. Titans

WATCH: Falcons linebacker Bud Dupree was mic’d up vs. Titans in Week 8

The Falcons couldn’t stop Titans rookie quarterback Will Levis in Week 8, but the defense has carried the team for much of the season and Pro Bowl defensive lineman Grady Jarrett tore his ACL early in the game.

One of the bright spots on Sunday was linebacker Bud Dupree, who recorded a sack against his former team. The 30-year-old edge rusher has been a welcome addition to Atlanta’s defense this season. He currently leads the team with three total sacks.

Dupree was mic’d up for Sunday’s game in Tennessee. Watch below, as shared by the team’s YouTube channel:

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Where Titans rank in dead money and who it’s going to

The 10 players who make up the Titans’ sizeable dead-money total going into 2023.

The Tennessee Titans entered the offseason in bad shape financially, and as a result the franchise has made moves that hint at a transition year of sorts as the Titans look to get their house in order.

As bad as things look now, they will be much better in 2024, as the Titans are slated to have $93.8 million in cap space next offseason before making any moves, according to Over the Cap.

Part of the reason the Titans are currently in a tough spot financially is because of all the dead cap they have.

In fact, Tennessee ranks seventh in the NFL in that category, with $36.8 million of their cap space going to players no longer playing for the team, also per Over the Cap.

While Tennessee already had several players in their dead-money column going into this offseason, they added to it with the releases of Bud Dupree, Robert Woods, Ben Jones, Zach Cunningham and Randy Bullock.

Here’s a look at who else joins those players on the list of Tennessee’s 2023 dead-cap hits, along with how much each one accounts for.

The Xs and Os: Atlanta Falcons have started a much-needed defensive overhaul

The Atlanta Falcons have started a desperately-needed defensive rebuild. Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar get into the specifics in this week’s “Xs and Os.”

With new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, who had been the New Orleans Saints’ defensive line coach,  I’d say to expect a lot more varied fronts and man coverage from the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons played man last season 22% of their snaps, which ranked 27th in the NFL. The 2022 Saints played man coverage on 40% of their snaps, which ranked second. New Orleans especially played a lot of 2-man – the most in the league.

Now, we don’t automatically assume that Nielsen will bring everything over from New Orleans, but when you look at their new personnel, they’re telling you what they want to do. They traded for Jeff Okudah, who is a dead-red press cornerback. Okudah had 43 coverage snaps in 2-Man last season. They got Mike Hughes, who was also with the Lions last season, and he’s played that stuff, as well. A.J. Terrell had kind of a down season in 2022, but he’s great when he’s on, and he is very comfortable in man coverage. 

Adding former Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates III certainly allows them to play more two-high stuff. Last season, the Falcons were in two-high 44% of the time, which ranked 24th. The Saints were in two-high 54% of the time, which ranked 15th.

Then, you add the guys to a front seven that didn’t do much of anything to disrupt the quarterback last season – they had the NFL’s second-fewest sacks with 21, and the NFL’s second-fewest pressures with 88. David Onyemata. Calais Campbell. Bud Dupree. Kaden Elliss. The Saints ran a ton of different fronts last season, and you’d expect a lot more varied fronts than we saw last season. Not that there will be a ton of blitz – the Falcons did it 19% of the time last season, and the Saints did it 15% of the time – but it’s more about throwing things at the quarterback pre-snap that the quarterback might not be ready for.

On this week’s edition of “The Xs and Os,” Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup discussed why Nielsen should bring as many things from New Orleans as he possibly can:

“One of the things I’ve done over the years is, when I talk to offensive coaches who game-plan, I always ask them, who are the toughest coaches and coordinators to play against? And Dennis Allen’s name always comes up. So there’s no question that Ryan Nielsen, who’s a younger coach… this is his background right now. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have his own ideas, but this is his background right now. So, you would expect to see a lot of those same principles.

“Now, Dean Pees was there, and Dean Pees is a guy who’s very multiple in how he approached pressures and coverages. So, it’s not as if they didn’t do a lot of different things, but you mentioned 2-Man, and I’ll be very curious to see if they’ll do that [in Atlanta]. Obviously to do that, you have to have a pass rush. Because if you’re going to play 2-Man coverage, that’s seven people in coverage. The five man-to-man defenders, and the two deep safeties. You need to be able to impact the quarterback with four defenders, and doing that within three seconds.”

You can watch Doug and Greg discussing that defensive overhaul right here:

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Ex-Titans OLB Bud Dupree signing with Falcons

Former Titans OLB Bud Dupree is reportedly signing with the Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons are signing yet another former Tennessee Titans player, with the team agreeing to a one-year deal with veteran outside linebacker, Bud Dupree.

The news comes from Zach Klein of WSB-TV. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Dupree’s one-year deal is worth up to $5 million.

Dupree was thought to be heading back to Pittsburgh with the Steelers after the team showed interest in its former player, but Pittsburgh wanted him to sign a two-year deal, while Dupree’s preference was a one-year pact, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Dupree spent two years in Nashville after inking a five-year, $82.5 million deal in 2021 coming off a torn ACL, but he never lived up to the contract after tallying seven sacks over his two injury-riddled seasons.

By signing a one-year deal, Dupree is likely hoping he can have a bounce-back campaign and then cash in on a new contract in 2024. However, he’ll have to be more available than he was in Tennessee if he wants that to become a reality.

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Twitter reacts to Falcons signing EDGE Bud Dupree

#Falcons fans praised GM Terry Fontenot on Twitter after the team signed LB Bud Dupree

The Atlanta Falcons signed veteran edge rusher Bud Dupree to a one-year deal on Friday. While the exact contract details are unknown, Dupree could reportedly earn up to $5 million this season.

The Steelers were also in the mix, but Dupree preferred the one-year deal that the Falcons were offering to the two-year deal Pittsburgh had on the table. Landing the eight-year NFL veteran is a big win for Atlanta and caps off an aggressive free agency period.

Falcons fans on Twitter praised general manager Terry Fontenot for another savvy signing.

Falcons sign LB Bud Dupree to one-year deal

The #Falcons are signing veteran LB Bud Dupree to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million

The Atlanta Falcons have added another veteran to their defensive front seven, signing outside linebacker Bud Dupree to a one-year contract that is worth up to $5 million, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

Dupree, 30, spent the first six years of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the Tennessee Titans for the last two seasons.

The former first-round pick started 11 games in 2022, racking up 18 tackles, four sacks, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Dupree’s best season came in 2019 when he finished with 11.5 sacks and four forced fumbles for the Steelers. For his career, Dupree has 266 total tackles, 46.5 sacks, 82 QB hits and 62 tackles for a loss.

The Falcons have already signed linebacker Kaden Elliss and brought back Lorenzo Carter. Dupree is a veteran edge presence who fills one of the team’s few remaining needs.

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Steelers, Bud Dupree set for free-agent visit

Former Titans OLB Bud Dupree is reportedly set to meet with his other former team, the Steelers.

In what comes as no surprise, there might be a reunion in the works with former Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Bud Dupree and his other old team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers are set to host Dupree for a visit, although the exact date was not revealed.

Dupree made a name for himself in Pittsburgh, notching 39.5 sacks over six seasons with the Steelers, including a career-best 11.5 in 2019. Dupree’s last season in Pittsburgh in 2020 ended early after he tore his ACL.

Despite that, now-former Titans general manager Jon Robinson gave Dupree a top-of-the-market deal that the veteran failed to live up to. The 30-year-old tallied just seven sacks over 22 games and missed a total of 12 contests (and exited multiple others early) because of knee, abdominal and hip injuries.

The Kentucky product also ran into off-the-field issues while with the Titans after an arrest stemming from an incident at a Nashville Walgreens. The edge rusher ended up pleading guilty and receiving a suspended sentence.

Dupree was no doubt a difference-maker for Tennessee when he was on the field, but the best ability is availability and that was his biggest weakness.

Ultimately, the Titans decided he wasn’t worth the substantial cap hit and they ended up eating $10.85 million in dead cap while also pulling in a savings of $9.35 million.

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