Takeaway: Steelers Replace Bud Dupree with Hunter Henry

Not everyone agrees Bud Dupree is worth a long-term contract from the Pittsburgh Steelers. In fact, in the list of musts for the Steelers this offseason, resigning Dupree seems split amongst various sports analysts.

One take that popped up on a feed recently is replacing Dupree's money with a contract for a tight end. According to Pro Football Focus, Pittsburgh's best option is avoid paying Dupree because of his lack of contribution prior to 2019 and sign former Chargers' tight end Hunter Henry.

The biggest thing Pittsburgh must not do this free agency is pay edge defender Bud Dupree. Don’t get us wrong — he made several impact plays in 2019 with 13 sacks and four forced fumbles. But he also generated pressure at a very concerning rate. Sacks are instable year-to-year while pressure rate is the opposite. Among 102 edge defenders to rush the passer at least 200 times in 2019, Dupree was 65th in pressure rate. That’s not someone you want to pay $14 million a year for when you are already in a bad spot with your cap space. If the Steelers can maneuver it, bringing in tight end Hunter Henry for a sub-$10 million contract is absolutely the best route to go. Henry has had some bad injuries the past couple of seasons, but when he was healthy in 2016-17, he was behind only Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce in two-year receiving grade. It’s hard telling how good Big Ben’s arm will be coming back from his elbow surgery, so he’ll need all the weapons he can get.

After making a few cap cuts to clear some money for the signing, the Steelers would be left with a new tight end and a new question mark at outside linebacker. A position they may be able to find in the NFL Draft or with a less expensive free agent signing.

Takeaway: It's very apparent that anyone who didn't spend the 2019 season inside the Steelers locker room doesn't know the impact of Bud Dupree. Yes, 2019 was his first season as a star but the change in attitude for Dupree and the rest of the defense doesn't leave a large amount of concern that he isn't going to continue getting better.

Mike Tomlin made it very clear that Dupree was the team's highest priority this offseason and Art Rooney II has backed that twice this offseason.

Vance McDonald may be an aging tight end with a large cap hit this season but signing Nick Vannett and adding a younger option through the draft seems just as good as taking a chance on a player like Henry who hasn't finished a complete 16 game season in his short career.

The tight end position is important with Ben Roethlisberger coming back but so is this defense. Replacing Dupree isn't easy and the Steelers have seen what it's like to have one strong edge rusher and one inconsistent one.

They're not looking to go back.

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