The Steelers must resign Bud Dupree, but not for the reasons you think

The Steelers need to resign Dupree as there would be a void at the OLB position without him

Behind starters, Dupree and T.J. Watt, the Steelers, in 2019, had players who were either inexperienced or who were backups for a reason.  That is not to say that they would be incapable of playing the OLB position if we are not able to resign Dupree; It is to say; however, that they may not be capable of playing at the same level as Dupree, if we are not able to resign him.

While it is unfortunate that the Steelers lack the depth at the OLB position that would enable us to play a ‘cat and mouse’ game in any potential contract negotiation, the reality is this: We simply can not afford to not resign Dupree precisely because of the aforementioned lack of depth.  That reason, in and of itself, compels and obligates the Steelers to present an attractive contract offer.

Another obvious reason we need to resign Dupree is that we drafted him, we cultivated him, we picked up his fifth-year option with the hope and, perhaps, with the expectation that he would finally have that ‘breakout’ season we had been waiting for.  Dupree delivered in a big way.

He finished the 2019 campaign with 11.5 sacks, more than doubling his production from 2018.  As I stated, this ‘breakout’ season presents a conundrum of sorts for the Steelers.  If we resign him, would we be getting the production of 2019 or would we be getting the Dupree whose best total in sacks before last season was 6 sacks?  That question cannot be answered unless and until Dupree plays for the Steelers in 2020 and beyond.

Let’s now take a look at some of the obscured reasons the Steelers must resign Dupree.