10 NFL free agency signings for 2021 that could backfire

1. Bud Dupree, EDGE, Tennessee Titans

This one comes with more than one question mark as the Tennessee Titans allowed their desperation for a pass rusher to force them into a rather big gamble. Despite the salary cap shrinking this offseason — which led to many shorter deals in free agency — the Titans elected to sign Bud Dupree to a five-year contract worth $82.5 million.

There are two reasons this deal is risky. One is the fact that Dupree had a slow start to his NFL career, never topping six sacks in a season. Then when T.J. Watt took off opposite him, he started to really come on. In Tennessee, he won’t have an elite player such as Watt drawing the double-teams, meaning he will have to prove he can still take over games while being the guy opposing teams look to slow down.

As for the second risk, Dupree is coming off a torn ACL which he suffered in December which means he might not even be ready to play when the Titans get to camp. Of course, he should still come back and there’s no reason to think he will have long-term effects but it’s still rare to see a player land a long-term deal with a new team while coming off a serious injury.

Should the signing work, the Titans could finally fix their defense. But they did just sign a frequently injured pass rusher last year in Jadeveon Clowney and he played only eight games before heading to the IR so there probably should have been more caution exercised by this club.