The first major domino of the Steelers offseason has fallen, with the team announcing Monday morning it has placed the franchise tag on outside linebacker Bud Dupree, meaning he'll be back to rush opposing passers opposite T.J. Watt in 2020.
It was an expected move for the Steelers coming off Dupree's career season in 2019, when he racked up 11.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 16 tackles for loss. The tag brings him back on a one-year deal, projected to be around $16 million for an outside linebacker by overthecap.com. The deadline to make the move was 11:59 a.m. Monday. Once the new collective bargaining agreement was ratified Sunday, the Steelers had the clearest picture possible to proceed with their roster management.
"There is so much business that is in the air," general manager Kevin Colbert said three weeks ago at the NFL combine. "We are going to see 300-plus players here in much more detail than we have known them before. We will learn a lot about the draft, and we will learn a lot about free agency. Some players are being taken off the market as we speak. That all changes. This thing is fluid right up until the end."
Dupree won't hit free agency now, delaying a potentially lucrative long-term deal for the 22nd overall pick in 2015. But it keeps the Steelers' edge-rushing tandem intact two years after they decided to pick up the fifth-year option on Dupree's rookie contract. Unlike Le'Veon Bell two years ago, Dupree hasn't given any indication that he'll decline to sign; his public stance has been a willingness to stay and play even without a long-term deal.
"Definitely ... of course," Dupree said after the season finale in Baltimore. "It's a business, but there's no hard feeling on my part. I love these boys, I love the staff, I love Coach (Mike) Tomlin like my own dad. I'd do anything for Coach T."
The Steelers still can try to sign Dupree beyond this season, but July 15 is the deadline to get that done. With Watt coming off an All-Pro campaign and a career year of his own, it's unlikely the team will be able to commit to both pass-rushers long term. But behind those two on the depth chart last year were Anthony Chickillo, Ola Adeniyi and Tuzar Skipper, none of whom saw much defensive playing time in 2019 _ and Chickillo was also released Monday morning.
While Dupree's return had been fairly easy to predict since Tomlin called him a "priority" at his season-ending news conference _ and Colbert reiterated last month that they wanted Dupree back _ that's not to say it won't create more decisions for the Steelers. With Dupree's compensation set to nearly double from the roughly $9 million he made last season, some other salaries even needed to be shed to comply with the new salary cap of $198.2 million for the 2020 league year. Hence, the Steelers cutting Chickillo, inside linebacker Mark Barron and receiver Johnny Holton later Monday.
The Steelers and the other 31 teams will need to be in compliance with that number by 4 p.m. Wednesday when the new league year officially begins. It will take some slicing and dicing for the Steelers to get under the cap, but we now know they're operating with Dupree as a piece of the puzzle.
"We always say the tag is available to us," Colbert said at the combine. "We never say we will, we never say we won't. Any time we do, though, it is always with the intention of we would like to get him signed to a long-term deal."
Tough as that may be, the Steelers are far from the only team tagging this offseason. Monday alone, the Bengals tagged wide receiver A.J. Green, the Cowboys tagged quarterback Dak Prescott, the Patriots tagged offensive lineman Joe Thuney, the Titans tagged running back Derrick Henry and the Buccaneers tagged pass-rusher Shaq Barrett, according to reports.
With Dupree, the Steelers (like every team but Dallas) elected to use the non-exclusive franchise tag. That means Dupree is permitted to negotiate with another club, but the Steelers would receive two first-round compensatory draft picks if he signed elsewhere.
