Former Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Bud Dupree has signed a new contract extension with the Los Angeles Chargers, the team announced. Dupree added one-year to his current deal, and could be paid as much as $6 million in the next year of his deal.
Dupree is 32 years old and has not been in the NFL for over a decade after the Steelers drafted him in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Last year, he still had a solid season, putting together six sacks in 17 games. He has 12.5 sacks over the last two seasons combined in a late-career renaissance.
Dupree’s best two seasons were with the Steelers from 2019 to 2020, when he had 11.5 sacks in 2019 and eight in 2020. He would have likely had more in 2020 if he did not go down with a torn ACL in the middle of that season.
Over the last two seasons, Dupree has stayed healthy and proven he can still be a productive pass rusher, leading to the Chargers giving him this contract extension to work alongside a new-look Chargers edge rusher room without Joey Bosa in the mix.
Dupree visited the Steelers twice before signing with the Falcons and Chargers, which could have resulted in a reunion between the talented edge rusher and the team who drafted him.