Steelers lose both Bud Dupree and Matt Feiler on Day 1 of Free Agency

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a pair of their 2020 starters late on Day 1 of the NFL legal tampering period. The first player the Steelers lost was outside linebacker Bud Dupree according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Although the entire contract is not known at this time, Dupree signed with the Tennessee Titans for multiple seasons at $16.5 million per year.

The Steelers first round draft pick in 2015, Dupree played 2020 under the franchise tag. In his six seasons in Pittsburgh, Dupree started 66 games where he had one interception for a touchdown, 11 passes defensed, eight forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 39.5 sacks, and 231 tackles.

In 2019 Dupree hit the double digits sack mark with 11.5 for the Steelers. Well on his way to do it again in 2020, Dupree’s season was cut short after 11 games when he faced a season-ending ACL injury.

Shortly after the news of Dupree signing with the Titans, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Steelers offensive lineman Matt Feiler signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Undrafted out of Bloomsburg in 2014, Feiler initially signed with the Houston Texans and landed on their practice squad. Coming to the Steelers practice squad in 2015, Feiler was on the practice squad again in 2016 but was promoted to the active roster for a game before heading back to the squad.

Feiler found himself a starter in 2018 due to the injury of Marcus Gilbert. Playing right tackle in 2018 and 2019, Feiler made the shift to left guard for 2020 to mixed reviews.

With both players signing a deal which was more than the Steelers would be able to afford, the bright side of their deals is they will count favorably in the compensatory formula in 2022.

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