(Photo by Jim McIssac/Getty Images)
Could Bud Dupree end up going to Big Blue? According to Jordan Raanan, who covers the Giants for ESPN, people in the Giants' building are intrigued by Dupree.
“Bud Dupree is a guy I have my eyes on. I know there are people in the building who like him,” Raanan said on the “Breaking Big Blue” podcast via Dan Benton of the Giants Wire. “Obviously, I don’t know if they’re willing to make that offer and go to that level because [he’s] coming off a serious knee injury. And there is risk in that, obviously.
Dupree suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the fourth quarter of the Steelers Week 12 game against the Ravens. Dupree has compiled 19.5 sacks in his last 27 games and was on his way to having his second consecutive season with double-digit sacks last year. Dupree has also improved tremendously as a run defender in the last two years. Despite his recent success, some believe out there, mainly Pro Football Focus, that Dupree is overrated and a lot of his productivity has to do with the number of dominant pass rushers the Steelers have on their defense.
“Also, he kind of blossomed the past two years, whereas the beginning of his career got off to a slow start," Raanan said. "How much of that, do they determine, is the fact that he played alongside T.J. Watt? Definitely, something you have to take into consideration.”
According to Spotrac, Dupree's market value is $18.2 million per year on a four-year deal worth $72.8 million. The Steelers currently have around just $5 million in salary-cap space and they simply won't be able to compete with other teams for Dupree. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said today that there's basically "no chance" the Steelers re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster or Dupree.
According to Overthecap.com, the Giants currently have around just $2 million in cap space, so if they don't make some contract restructures or cuts to free up cap space, it doesn't look like Dupree will be ending up with the Giants either. The Colts, Patriots, Dolphins and Titans all need a pass rusher, and they have the cap space to sign Dupree.
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