Bud Dupree Signs Steelers' Franchise Tender; Contract Will Pay Around $16M

Linebacker Bud Dupree is one of the key staples of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, and they made sure he will be around for at least the 2020 season.

On Thursday, the Steelers announced Dupree signed his franchise tender.

This comes after Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported on March 16 the AFC North team placed the franchise tag on Dupree. At the time, Kevin Patra of NFL.com noted the value was expected to be around $16 million.

In January, team president Art Rooney II sounded like someone who wanted Dupree around for longer than one more year when he told reporters: "We'd like to have Bud back, no question about it. And we'll do our best to figure out how to make it happen. But we'd like to have him back, and I'll stay optimistic that we'll be able to figure out how to make that happen."

Pittsburgh selected Dupree out of the University of Kentucky with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, and he quickly developed into a solid contributor.

He tallied at least four sacks in each of his first four seasons, including the 4.5 he posted in just seven games in 2016. Yet it was after the Steelers picked up his fifth-year option for 2019 that he truly turned the corner as a dominant defensive force.

Dupree finished the season with 68 tackles, 11.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, which were all career-best marks.

Opposing offensive lines struggled to deal with his speed off the edge, especially since they also had to account for T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward. That made double teams all the more difficult, and Dupree now looks like a difference-maker for years to come.

He is just 27 years old, and Pittsburgh made sure he will continue racking up sacks in its uniform for at least one more season.