The Steelers must do whatever it takes to resign Bud Dupree, but not for the reasons you might think
To say that the Steelers must resign Bud Dupree would be both an understatement and an obvious statement. The reasons why we must resign Dupree are both obvious and obscured. It is the latter reasons that we will discuss in detail, but we will also layout the obvious reasons in order to gain an understanding of the obscured reasons.
So let me start by saying this: The fact that Dupree had his best statistical season in his contract year does not bode well for the Steelers ability to resign him, but, as I stated, we must do whatever we have to do to resign him. Now, I am not suggesting that we ‘break the bank’ with a contract offer, but I think we need to make him a realistic offer.
Unfortunately, Dupree did not enjoy his ‘breakout’ season in 2018 when the Steelers could have extended him at perhaps a less expensive salary and thus a less expensive cap hit than the ones we may be facing if the Steelers do ultimately resign him, but, such is life in the NFL.
What exacerbates things for us is that the Steelers really do not have any cap space to speak of. According to overthecap.com, we have $1,430,975 in available cap space. That is just terrible. We find ourselves, again, in a position where we will have to either restructure contracts to free up cap space, which merely ‘kicks the can’ of cap liability down the road into future years or release players outright.
Let’s take a look at some of the obvious reasons the Steelers need to resign Dupree.
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.
The Steelers risk losing credibility if Dupree is not resigned
I know what you’re thinking: How could you say that the Steelers risk losing credibility if Dupree is not resigned? He will become a free agent and thus is free to sign with whatever team offers him the right deal. That is true; however, what is also true is this: If we do not make every effort to resign Dupree, meaning if we do not ‘pony up’ the money necessary to resign him, we will lose credibility.
Here is what I mean by that: The Steelers had been an organization that was the envy of the rest of the league thanks to some stellar draft classes, particularly the 1974 draft class that saw four players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lately, we have been an organization that has been hit or miss with draft picks, especially first-round draft picks.
If the Steelers do not or cannot resign Dupree, it would be tantamount to admitting either one of two things. First, that the Steelers are an organization without the conviction to extend first-round picks rather than letting said first-rounds picks hit the free-agent market.
Obviously, not every first-round pick is worthy of being extended, but in the case of Dupree, the lack of depth that existed and still exists behind him was a sign that perhaps we should have extended him in 2018 rather than pick up the fifth-year option and now be in a position where we may not be able to resign him.
The second reason the Steelers are almost forced to resign Dupree is this: We absolutely cannot make it appear that we have lost the ability to draft, cultivate and keep good talent, particularly first-round talent. Like I stated at the beginning of the discussion, I think it is unfortunate the Dupree had his ‘breakout’ season in his contract year, but, as the saying goes, you can’t cry over spilled (spilt) milk.
The Steelers are in a ‘catch 22’ with resigning Dupree
Although Dupree had not been overly productive in his first four years with the Steelers, he was very productive in 2019. Again, this is a ‘double-edged sword’. On one hand, we need to resign him because of the lack of depth at the OLB position; On the other hand, we need to resign him because we cannot admit defeat in terms of not being able to draft, cultivate and retain our first-round draft picks.
Whatever course of action the Steelers take, it had better pan out. As long as we continue to run a base 3-4 defense, the need for productive OLBs will always be of paramount importance.
If we resign Dupree and he continues to be productive, great; If we resign Dupree and he regresses, the Steelers will look like an organization that does not know what they are doing and that would be tragic.