Bud Dupree came to the Titans two seasons ago, but his time in Nashville appears to be coming to an early end. Tennessee is expected to release the veteran pass rusher, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). 
Dupree enjoyed a productive six-year tenure in Pittsburgh to begin his career. That stint included playing the 2019 season on the fifth-year option, and the following campaign on the franchise tag. He racked up 19.5 sacks over that span, making him one of the top edge rushers on the market in 2021.
The Titans won out the competition to sign Dupree, inking him to a five-year, $82MM deal. That marked a major addition to the team’s pass-rushing corps, and led to substantial expectations. Instead, the former first-rounder has struggled to stay healthy during his time in Tennessee. An ACL tear suffered at the end of his Steelers career made the hefty Titans deal an even more surprising one, and has been followed by consecutive 11-game seasons. A chest injury landed him on IR in 2022.
More importantly, a lack of production will spur this parting of ways. Dupree has recorded only seven sacks during his two seasons with the Titans, a team which was desperate for help getting to the quarterback upon his signing. Cutting Dupree will result in $9.3MM in cap savings if done immediately, though that figure would jump to $15.75MM if designated as a post-June 1 release. The Kentucky product was due to carry cap hits ranging from $18.7MM to $20.2MM in the three years remaining on his pact.
Moving on from Dupree would mark an unsurprising development on the Titans’ part, and it would add further to the plethora of cost-cutting moves they have already made this offseason. Tennessee has parted ways with left tackle Taylor Lewan, receiver Robert Woods, kicker Randy Bullock and linebacker Zach Cunningham. Those decisions helped their cap situation considerably, but left them with a number of roster holes to fill. The same will of course be true if they do indeed subtract Dupree from a defense which ranked in the bottom half of the league with 39 sacks last season.
If Dupree were to hit the open market, he would get a slight head start on free agency compared to other edge rushers who won’t be eligible to sign until the new league year starts next week. The 2023 class is headlined by the likes of Yannick Ngakoue, Marcus Davenport, Jadeveon Clowney and Samson Ebukam.
Welcome back to the burgh!
No.
haha hated losing this guy, but Highsmith has developed into the guy across from of Watt.
think Highsmith is in line for a monster 2023
Highsmith is talented, but he, like the rest, are mostly products of TJ Watt.. In his 7 games without Watt in 2022 he had 3.5 sacks, in 10 with Watt he had 11….
Yeah, you’re likely right, but having seen Dupree a number of his times since his departure, he’s not the same player that left
Likely an upgrade over what they have if he comes “cheaply” but there are better options on the market
I like Highsmith and don’t mean to talk down on him. Seems to be a great dude and hard worker. I just think the stats speak more volume when Watt is there than Highsmith being disruptive himself. I wouldn’t mind Dupree back for a cheap 1 year deal like you said, but like really cheap, and I’m not sure he’s available for less than 5M.
Oh I agree with you on all points
Just not sold on Dupree now
I tend to think the ACL injury ruined Bush in that he became tentative. In a similar way, similar injuries changed the kind of player Dupree was
But as you said, put him into a defense with Watt and everyone is better
I blame his monstrous and stupid contract that’s why we couldn’t extend AJ Brown
a lot of his sacks in Pittsburgh came because he was playing opposite of TJ Watt.
to an extent, but this guy turned into a monster in his own right
got hurt, lost explosiveness, got rewarded anyways while no longer having to earn it.
Dam Titans letting everyone go, but it appears they will be keeping Ryan Tannehill.
Full scale rebuild, usually better done by trading guys with value for picks and getting to add some cheap young guys.
The only guy they could trade for high picks was the one they should have prioritized keeping last year (Brown) or the one they should prioritize extending this year (Simmons).
As proof of said rebuild, Tennessee is also looking to move Derrick Henry. You don’t try to get rid of the best RB in the league if you’re doing a rebuild.
You do if he’s 29
He was considered an underachiever with the Steelers until he put together a great season and then got the big contract. A one year incentive laden contract is all he should get.
Not sure how some bloggers are talking about Bud coming back to the “burg “. If the Steelers truly are prioritizing needs where the draft and free agency are concerned, how does stacking depth behind Watt and Highsmith make any sense?
Because that’s a need. He could give watt and highsmith valuable rest. I’d only want him back if it’s cheap, but I think that’s his value at this point. It’s a good fit
I get it. My point is, with the realities of salary caps, depth is a luxury they can’t afford before both lines, an inside linebacker and a corner
Unless they’re going to restructure a couple contracts, it’s hard to fathom