INDIANAPOLIS -- If there had been any doubt regarding what the Steelers want to do in regard to impending free agent linebacker Bud Dupree, general manager Kevin Colbert cleared it up Tuesday.
Colbert said the Steelers are intent on not just keeping Dupree in 2020, but well beyond, as well. They aren't looking for a one-year rental.
"One thing that won’t change is our desire to have Bud Dupree finish his career as a Pittsburgh Steeler," Colbert said Tuesday here at the NFL Scouting Combine. "He had a great season for us. He’s earned it. There’s no denying that. We’re as happy as we can be because we’re confident he can do even more moving forward."
What makes that situation interesting is the NFL's current CBA negotiations as the league heads into the final season of its current deal.
Dupree is scheduled to become a free agent March 18 when the new league year begins. But NFL owners sent a new CBA proposal to the players late last week that could be voted on and either approved or denied sometime this week.
That's significant because the league has different rules in place regarding its salary cap and other parts of the CBA if it is indeed the final year of the CBA. If a new CBA is in place, it would change some things dramatically, especially in regard to the salary cap.
Because of that, the NFL moved the timeframe of when teams could begin using the franchise and transition tags from Tuesday to Thursday. Teams will then have until March 10 to use the tags. If there is no new CBA in place, teams can use both the franchise and transition tags in 2020. If there is a new deal, they would only be able to use one or the other.
The Steelers could use a tag on Dupree, but as Colbert noted, their main goal will be to sign Dupree to a long-term deal.
A first-round draft pick in 2015, Dupree had a breakout season in 2019, recording 68 tackles and 11.5 sacks, both career highs.
He earned $9.2 million in 2019 after the Steelers picked up his fifth-year option on his rookie deal. Using the franchise tag on Dupree could cost the Steelers as much as $17 million in 2020.
The Steelers are tight against the salary cap and will need to create some cap space in order to use the franchise tag or sign Dupree to a long-term deal. But signing him to a long-term deal would potentially be the cheaper option on their 2020 cap.
The team also wants to sign defensive end Cam Heyward, who is heading into the final season of his current contract, to a new long-term deal. So, creating cap space is a must.
But until something happens with the CBA, many teams are in a holding pattern.
"We’re approaching this as we normally do because nobody knows about the CBA," Colbert said. "We don’t know. We can’t talk about it. We have to operate under the rules we know are in place. If there are changes in the rules, we’ll change along with it. But right now, this is where we are in 2020."
