Steelers GM Kevin Colbert would 'love' to find a way to keep Bud Dupree

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ salary-cap woes are well documented, and with 18 players set to hit unrestricted free agency in a month, the roster in 2021 is bound to look vastly different than the one that lost to Cleveland in the AFC wild-card round.

General manager Kevin Colbert would love to bring back outside linebacker Bud Dupree, even if financial circumstances indicate he won’t have the resources to do it. The Steelers are an estimated $14 million over the projected $185 million salary cap.

After playing on a $15.828 million franchise tag, Dupree will hit free agency for the first time. Although he missed the final six games, counting postseason, with a torn ACL, Dupree finished with eight sacks, third-most on the team.

“We are never going to eliminate a great player like Bud Dupree,” Colbert said Wednesday. “We don’t know what his market is, and he doesn’t know what his market is at this point.”

Salary-cap tracking site spotrac.com projects Dupree’s market value at $18 million a season, estimating he could command a four-year, $72 million contract. But with the salary cap dropping in 2021 and at least a dozen NFL teams already over budget, Dupree’s market value could drop as well.

“We’d love to be able to keep a Bud Dupree,” Colbert said. “Bud is a special player, and Bud and T.J. (Watt) together is a special group.”

One path to retaining Dupree — or any other pending free agent — likely won’t be with the Steelers using the franchise or transition tag. The Steelers have used the franchise tag in three of the past four offseasons.

“I would say it’s doubtful we would be able to use a tag,” Colbert said.