Bud Dupree has left the Steelers for the Tennessee Titans. It turns out he and ex-teammate T.J. Watt had a dust-up with one of Bud’s new pals in Nashville.
Steelers captain Cameron Heyward is sad to see Dupree leave. Meanwhile, Cameron Sutton is happy to stay. And some spring training struggles for Gerrit Cole.
All that in Wednesday’s “First Call.”
Bye, bye, Bud!
Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward didn’t hold back on his praise for recently departed teammate Bud Dupree.
The outside linebacker just signed a free-agent deal to join the Tennessee Titans. And Heyward said Dupree will be missed.
“I’m so glad Bud got his money,” Heyward said Tuesday on 93.7 The Fan. “That’s my right side (of the defensive front) buddy. We eat off each other’s plates. Bud has grown so much over these years. He’s developed into an awesome player. But he’s a heckuva teammate. I don’t think people realize how good of a teammate Bud is. It’s hard to replicate.”
As for Dupree’s replacement, Heyward claims to have faith in second-year player Alex Highsmith.
“Alex has his head on right. He’s damned near as explosive of a guy as I’ve seen. And it’s all about putting it together.”
But as Heyward pointed out in the interview, unless the Steelers go out and sign a marginal veteran or invest a significant pick at the outside linebacker position, the depth will be weakened there. Because Highsmith now jumps up from being the top backup to being a starter opposite T.J. Watt.
That means Ola Adeniyi better develop into being a reliable No. 3 at the position—if he stays. And another player needs to evolve into being the fourth guy in the rotation.
Fences to mend
Now that Dupree is heading to Nashville, he may have a few fences to mend. Starting with Taylor Lewan.
The Titans offensive tackle sent out this tweet in the wake of his team signing Dupree.
One time Tj watt and I got into it his rookie year and @Bud_Dupree and TJ said they were gonna fight me at the bus.. they didn’t and I appreciate that. Welcome to the team brother! You are gonna love it here. @titans #ACLbrothers
— Taylor Lewan (@TaylorLewan77) March 16, 2021
So I guess it’s safe to say Lewan is extending an olive branch at the end of that story. But I imagine training camp practices will be interesting when those two line up across from each other. As you may have noticed, Lewan also made a reference to his ACL.
Like Dupree, Lewan suffered a tear in that ligament and saw his 2020 season end before Week 6. Dupree’s ended thanks to an ACL tear during the Baltimore Ravens contest at Heinz Field, which was Game 11 for the Steelers.
Sutton on Sirius
Steelers defensive back Cameron Sutton is one of the few free agents that stayed in Pittsburgh. On Tuesday, he joined SiriusXM NFL Radio to talk about the decision.
“It was important to build upon what I already established in Pittsburgh. And what I can bring to the table to help our defense move in the right direction and win Super Bowls,” Sutton told hosts Lance Medow and Torry Holt. “It’s hard to up and leave when you have so many supportive people around you.”
For a while, it appeared that the Steelers defense may have been holding back Sutton’s career. Sort of portraying him as a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But the do-it-all defensive back disagrees.
“Freedom. Not just being closed in a box. I was able to learn playing inside, outside, the dime, playing safety. I’ve been able to partake in those roles, and they are only going to be able to expand.”
Now Sutton says the team needs to finish stronger.
“We are tired of coming up short,” Sutton continued. “There have been times the past couple years we’ve had great teams and pieces. Everything looks good. And we slip up in those final, crucial moments, and we aren’t able to create that success that we want to.”
In their last three playoff games — all losses — they’ve allowed a combined 129 points. And in their last three seasons, they went from 11-0 to 12-5 (counting the playoff loss to Cleveland), 7-2-1 to missing the playoffs, and 8-5 to missing the playoffs.
Going yard on Gerrit
Former Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole had a rough spring training outing against the Detroit Tigers.
The Yankees right-hander gave up three hits, two runs on two solo homers, and a walk and hit a batter over 3 ⅔ innings. That was on 61 pitches.
JaCoby Jones was one of those who took Cole deep.
Jacoby Jones HR off Gerrit Cole: pic.twitter.com/t2oBR9QsGS
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 16, 2021
However, the Yankees went on to win 7-4 and Cole got the win anyway.
