Veteran LB Bud Dupree, 31, signs with Los Angeles Chargers

LOS ANGELES — Free agent outside linebacker Bud Dupree has signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, the team announced Saturday.

Dupree, 31, enjoyed a career renaissance last year, collecting 6.5 sacks and 39 tackles, including eight tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits for the Atlanta Falcons. He quickly became the team’s best edge player in Atlanta’s defensive system, often playing on many vital snaps.

He joins a group of outside linebackers that includes two of the best in the league, Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. Mack had the best season of his career last year, finishing fourth in the NFL with a career-high 17 sacks. The Chargers also have outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu, who has become one of the team’s most consistent players with Bosa sitting out eight games last season.

Tuipulotu finished with 4.5 sacks last season, tied for seventh among rookies. The Chargers, who don’t have a dominant interior passer, could feature Dupree and Tuipulotu in sets with three outside linebackers, where one of them lines up inside.

Last season, this package was effective for the Chargers, including a Week 2 game against the Tennessee Titans when Tuipulotu called on two linemen to free up a sack for Bosa.

Dupree, a first-round pick in 2015, spent his first six seasons with the Steelers, and a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler Saturday night that Pittsburgh was a close consideration for the veteran. But the Chargers sold Dupree on three-point sets with Bosa and Mack on the field together, the source said.

Dupree has crossed the 10 sack mark once – with the Steelers in 2019 when he played every game and had a career-high 68 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits. He played in 119 career games (99 starts) with 305 tackles, 53 sacks and 70 tackles for loss.