Titans' Bud Dupree Won't Return vs. Saints After Suffering Abdominal Injury

Tennessee Titans linebacker Bud Dupree suffered an abdominal injury in Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.

Dupree spent the first six years of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing a five-year contract with the Titans in free agency during the offseason.

Tennessee paid up for the 28-year-old veteran despite the fact that he was coming off a torn ACL suffered during Week 12 of the 2020 season.

So far in his first season as a member of the Titans, Dupree has registered seven total tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

Dupree broke out in a big way in 2019 with a career-high 11.5 sacks after failing to post more than six in any of his first four NFL seasons.

The former University of Kentucky standout was on pace to top that production last season with eight sacks through 11 games, but the aforementioned knee injury cut his year short and created some uncertainty with regard to what the market would be for him in free agency.

Even though it was far from guaranteed that he would be ready for the start of the 2021 regular season, the Titans rolled the dice and signed him in hopes of making a big improvement to their pass rush.

The decision to sign Jadeveon Clowney during the previous offseason didn't pay the type of dividends Tennessee had envisioned since he was ravaged by injuries, prompting the Titans to go back to the drawing board with Dupree.

While Dupree is a big loss for Tennessee if he is forced to miss time, the Titans aren't completely devoid of pass-rushing talent without him.

Harold Landry III, who entered the 2021 season with a combined 14.5 sacks over the past two years, will primarily be looked upon to elevate his game while Dupree is out.

The Titans will also lean more heavily on defensive linemen Denico Autry and Jeffery Simmons from a pass-rushing perspective if Dupree lands on the shelf.