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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree is coming off of a season in which he finished with 42 tackles, 5.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, and a defensive touchdown, but Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert does not seem 100 percent sold on him yet.
“Bud Dupree had his best year last year,” Colbert said, according to Joe Rutter of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Collectively, he and T.J (Watt) were pretty good. Does Bud still have more? Absolutely. Bud is a starter on a winning team. … From an effort standpoint, it’s not a lack of effort. It’s turning effort into more production. Can he? Will he? We’ll see.”
While Colbert clearly complimented Dupree's production from this past season, he is obviously not fully confident that Dupree will be able to improve upon it going forward, which is why Pittsburgh probably won't be offering him a long-term deal just yet.
Dupree is due to make $9.2 million next season, but the Steelers could work out a long-term contract with him to bypass that $9.2 million and avoid the cap hit.
However, Pittsburgh seemingly does not want to commit long-term money to a player who they are not sure will remain productive.
Dupree, who played his collegiate football at the University of Kentucky, was originally selected by the Steelers in the first round (22nd pick overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.
He has been somewhat of a disappointment thus far, registering just 132 tackles and 20 sacks combined over his first four seasons.
The Steelers went 9-6-1 this past year and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
