Former Steelers 1st Rounder Says He’s Open to Returning to the Team

Getty Bud Dupree revealed that he's open to returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have added a lot of talent to their roster this offseason.

The moves they’ve made have revamped a squad that had some serious issues during the 2023 season.

Now it looks like one of their former players could want to be the latest addition for the team.

In an interview with Ron Lippock on Steelerstakeaways.com, edge rusher Bud Dupree revealed that he would be open to a Pittsburgh return if the opportunity arose.

“For sure! If the opportunity came up definitely! It’s a great organization and Tomlin – he is who he is. The standard is the standard – for sure I’d go back.”

A Former Star for the Steelers

The Steelers used the 22nd pick in the 2015 draft to land Dupree after he had a standout college career at Kentucky.

It was a move that ended up paying off for them.

He contributed immediately with four sacks in his rookie season and year three he had become a starter for the team.

In that third year, he had 6 sacks and 12 tackles for a loss.

The following year, he had 5.5 sacks, 25 pressures, 8 tackles for a loss, and even added a pick-six.

His performance was enough for the Steelers to bring him back for a fifth year with the team.

The fifth year saw Dupree put in the best season of his career. He racked up 11.5 sacks that season along with 68 tackles and 16 tackles for a loss.

That earned him the Steelers’ franchise tag for the 2020 season. He only played 11 games, but still had 8 sacks and 8 tackles for a loss.

His performance that season earned him a big payday. He signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Titans.

The deal didn’t end up working out for the Titans and they let Dupree go after just two seasons.

He spent the 2023 season with the Falcons on a one-year deal and started 16 games for them. He finished the season with 6.5 sacks and 8 tackles for a loss.

Despite a solid season in Atlanta, Dupree now finds himself on the free agent market again.

Plenty of Edge Talent in Pittsburgh

The Steelers’ depth chart isn’t all that crowded with edge rushers.

They currently have Jeremiah Moon listed as the backup on one side of the defense after they picked him up off waivers at the end of the 2023 season.

However, it’s a position where they don’t really need much depth.

Pittsburgh currently rosters the league’s most dangerous edge rusher. T.J. Watt has led the league in sacks for three of the last four seasons.

They also have Alex Highsmith, who racked up 14.5 sacks in 2022.

Those two together give the Steelers one of the league’s most intimidating pass rushes.

Last season, the Steelers spent a fourth-round pick on Nick Herbig and he was able to get 3 sacks in his rookie season, showing that he could also be a useful piece for them in the future.

Maybe Dupree could be brought in for depth, but he would have to be ready to accept a much smaller role than he had with the Falcons last season if he was going to be a part of this Steelers team.