There have been reports that the Steelers were interested in Jadeveon Clowney. Here’s why trading Bud Dupree and signing Clowney would be a win-win.
After four underwhelming seasons to start his NFL career, Bud Dupree finally showed signs of life in 2019 with a breakout season. Despite being a former first-round draft choice, the Steelers edge defender never logged more than 6.0 sacks or 1 forced fumble in a single sesaon, but that changed last year.
In one year’s time, Dupree’s raw numbers took a major leap. He recorded 11.5 sacks in 2019 in addition to earning 16 tackles for a loss, 17 quarterback hits, and 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. However, despite these impressive numbers, Dupree’s efficiency was very modest last year.
According to Pro Football Focus, Dupree’s 13.1 percent pass rush win rate was tied for 50th in the league. In addition, Dupree has ranked just 83rd, 44th, 51st, and 63rd in pressure rate during the four seasons he has qualified.
Recently, reports circled that Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network said that the Steelers were ‘poking their nose around to see if they could sign’ Jadeveon Clowney before the season starts. While this seems like an impossibility, considering their current cap situation (just over $4.7 million, according to Over the Cap), there are ways that Pittsburgh could make this happen.
One of those is trading Bud Dupree. Though this is very unlikely to happen, trading one edge defender and signing another could prove to be beneficial to the Steelers this year. Here are three reasons why it makes sense for Pittsburgh to trade Dupree and sign Clowney: