The Pittsburgh Steelers may have made a mistake giving the franchise tag to edge defender, Bud Dupree. Here are five free agents they could have signed for less.
When it came time for teams to hand out franchise tags for the 2020 season, it wasn’t at all surprising to see the Steelers lock up Bud Dupree for this year. The former first-round draft choice is coming off his best season as a professional in which he compiled 11.5 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss in 16 games.
Despite his success last season, his efficiency rushing the passer was just modest, and there are many who believe that the $15.828 million franchise tag is too much. Recently, however, the Steelers edge defender filed a grievance to be paid as a defensive end – a number that would guarantee him $17.788 million in 2020.
Though Dupree has developed into a solid player for the Steelers, I think we all can agree that he’s not worth nearly $18 million this season. If Pittsburgh would have been open to other options, they could have had other very respectable pass rushers on cheaper deals.
Here are five free-agent pass rushers the Steelers could have signed instead of giving the franchise tag to Bud Dupree:
Dante Fowler
Dante Fowler had nearly identical production to Dupree in 2019 (11.5 sacks, 16 tackles for a loss), but the former first-round pick could have come at an even cheaper price. Fowler signed a 3-year, $45 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams this offseason – earning him $15 million per season.
Dupree, on the other hand, is set to make more than that on the franchise tag alone. If he plays well again in 2020, he will no doubt blow Folwer’s money out of the water. Dante Fowler could have given the Steelers the same level of football player at a cheaper price.
Jadeveon Clowney
Jadeveon Clowney entered free agency as one of the most talked-about prospects this offseason. The former first overall pick has never had amazing statistics, but he makes his presence felt on the football field each and every week.
Pairing him alongside T.J. Watt on the Steelers defense would just be unfair to opposing offenses, but Pittsburgh obviously never considered this. While Dupree and Watt are quite the pairing, it’s possible that Clowney could be even cheaper than Dupree when he eventually signs this offseason – especially if Dupree ends up getting paid the defensive end tag price of nearly $18 million.
Between the two, Clowney is clearly the more dominant and more consistent player, and for the price that they potentially could have nabbed him at, I would undo Dupree’s tag in a heartbeat to secure a talented player like Clowney. Dupree-level players hit the market all the time, but Clowney-level talents are nearly impossible to come by in free agency.
Robert Quinn
Robert Quinn isn’t on the same level as Dupree when it comes to run defense. However, he was unquestionably the more efficient pass rusher last season. Despite having 138 less past rush snaps last year, Quinn still earned 11.5 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss. In addition, his 22 quarterback hits were 5 more than Dupree on significantly fewer snaps.
Quinn has incredible speed and bend off the edge and is a much more natural pass rusher than Dupree. After a phenomenal season in Dallas last year, Quinn ended up earning a 5-year, $70 million contract with the Chicago Bears.
Still, at $14 million per season, I feel much better about paying that to a proven player like Quinn than to Dupree. Quinn now has 80.5 sacks in 125 games and has proven to be one of the better pass rushers in the league right now.
Vic Beasley
Like Robert Quinn, Vic Beasley isn’t an edge defender who is known for his ability to shut down the run game, and he can be a liability in this area at times. However, Beasley has some other traits that would have made him a great fit in Pittsburgh.
Vic Beasley was drafted ahead of Bud Dupree back in 2015, and it wasn’t hard to see why at the time. Coming out of college, he drew some comparisons to Von Miller for his elite speed and dip around the edge. In his second NFL season, Beasley earned first-team All-Pro honors with 15.5 sacks and 6 forced fumbles on the season.
Though he hasn’t been as good since his 2016 season, Beasley still earned 8.0 sacks last year despite playing just 73 percent of defensive snaps. Beasley isn’t quite the same level of player as Dupree overall, but he signed with the Titans for just $9.5 million this offseason – a fraction of what Dupree will earn in 2020.
Perhaps Dupree will take another leap forward and prove that he was worth the money the Steelers gave him on the franchise tag. However, if he doesn’t, we will all be wondering why Pittsburgh didn’t try to go after one of these pass rushers instead.