It was the worst po sible outcome for in 2020. The veteran outside linebacker believed he proved himself worthy of a sizable contract extension following a career-best Chris Paddack Jersey season in 2019, one in which he delivered 11.5 sacks, 68 combined tackles, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries for the . Instead, the team exercised a franchise tag that paid guaranteed him $15.83 million but no long-term security, wanting to revisit talks in 2021.Dupree was on his way to duplicating -- if not outright besting -- his previous career-high marks when he suffered a Blake Snell Jersey season-ending torn ACL on Dec. 2 against the rival , bringing those efforts to a screeching halt. As the 28-year-old works to recover from that devastating injury, some believe his value on the open market will take a hit, thanks to the timing of what happened; but he wants the Steelers and all other potential suitors to know he'll be back to prime form soon.While it's much too soon for Dupree to be available for any offseason conditioning in April, he fully expects to be 100 percent and ready to take the field when training camps fire up in July, per Jeremy Fowler of . That's not only good news for Dupree's future, but his progre s has also kept the Steelers engaged -- the team hoping to have him back in their uniform in 2021. Barring Fernando Tatis Jr. Jersey a second franchise tag that would cost Pittsburgh a chunky $18.9 million fully guaranteed salary, something that's unlikely to happen, the Steelers will have to put in their bid like everyone else, but they'll give it a go. Dupree finished the 2020 season with eight sacks and 15 Carlos Asuaje Jersey quarterback hits (just two QB hits shy of his career best set in 2019) and two forced fumbles in 11 games, proving his previous year was no fluke. His market value remains strong at a projected $18.2 million, , and mostly because he's a force as a pa s rusher, when healthy. Having not played for any other NFL team since joining the Steelers as the 22nd-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the club is simply better when he's on the field. At some point this summer, he expects to lace up again, but time Yu Darvish Jersey will tell if it'll be in Western Pennsylvania.