Titans Officially Release Bud Dupree

While the announcement didn't come until early Thursday morning, the Tennessee Titans have officially released Bud Dupree. The move will bring added cash under the salary cap for free agency.

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

NASHVILLE- The wait is over, as on Wednesday, the Tennessee Titans made it official with the release of Bud Dupree.  

The former University of Kentucky star was selected in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011. Dupree signed a five-year, $82.5 million free-agent deal with the Titans in May 2021. 

Injuries and the need to trip salary were part of the reason the Titans parted ways with the pass-rusher.  

Entering training camp, in July, after signing his contract in May, Dupree was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. He was activated from the list in August but suffered an abdominal injury in week 10 and returned to the list in November before being reactivated in December. 

There was also an off-field incident in February 2022, where Dupree turned himself in to Metro-Nashville Police on misdemeanor battery charges. Cell phone video emerged showing his part of a scuffle inside a local Walgreens following a Titans home game versus Miami. 

While it had been widely speculated that Dupree would be released as a cost-saving measure, he claimed in a recently deleted tweet that he was unaware of this move coming. 

“Damn, I found out on Twitter,” wrote Dupree.  

While there has been no official comment from the Titans on the circumstances of the situation surrounding the "leak" of this information, it had been speculated that he could be released on television, radio, and social media. 

Dupree was scheduled to make $16.5 million for the coming season, with a base of $1.25 million and a signing bonus of $9.6 million, with a dead cap hit of reportedly $10.85 million.    

While the actual savings have not been released, a tweet from John Glennon shared this.  

So as the actual "signing" portion of free agency gets underway, @Jason_OTC has #Titans with $10.6 million worth of cap space, 18th-most in the league.
The expected release of OLB Bud Dupree (which hasn't officially occurred) would almost double that amount.

— John Glennon (@glennonsports) March 15, 2023

Other notable cuts from around the league that transpired along with Dupree included former TitanJadaveon Clowney-Cleveland, Ezekiel Elliott-Dallas, Matt Ryan-Indianapolis, Bobby Wagner-LA Rams, and Leonard Fournette-Tampa Bay.