Thursday's NFL: Titans release OLB Bud Dupree after 7 sacks in 2 years
Nashville, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans released outside linebacker Bud Dupree two years into a five-year contract, parting ways with the big free agent they acquired in 2021 to boost their pass rush, the team announced Thursday.
The Titans announced Thursday afternoon that wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine signed a one-year deal and defensive lineman Naquan Jones signed his tender as an exclusive rights free agent.
Dupree signed a contract worth up to $82.5 million contract in March 2021 after spending his first six seasons with Pittsburgh. The Titans signed Dupree despite the 6-foot-4, 269-pound linebacker tearing an ACL in early December 2020.
He was waived Wednesday night. Dupree becomes the latest veteran cut by Tennessee's new general manager Ran Carthon, joining three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan, wide receiver Robert Woods, center Ben Jones, kicker Randy Bullock and linebacker Zach Cunningham.
Dupree had been due the second-highest base salary on the Titans' roster at $17 million, along with a bonus of $3.2 million. He was set to count $20.2 million against the cap, according to Spotrac.com.
With a dead cap hit of $10.8 million, the Titans get a cap savings of only $9.35 million.
The linebacker started the 2021 season opener, but struggled coming off the torn ACL. He had one sack in his first seven games and wound up on injured reserve with a hip injury. Dupree started only six of the 11 games he played in 2021, and he played in only 11 games in 2022.
Dupree, who had 39 1/2 sacks in Pittsburgh, finished with only seven sacks over 22 games with Tennessee.
Westbrook-Ikhine joined the Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Indiana in 2020. He has started 21 of 47 games and has 66 catches for 906 yards and seven touchdowns for his career.
Bengals' Mixon armed in shooting, no shots fired according to prosecutor
Cincinnati — Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon was armed with a legal weapon when a teenage boy was shot near the player's home earlier this month but he did not fire the gun or do anything illegal, authorities said Thursday as they announced the indictments of Mixon's sister and her boyfriend.
Lamonte Brewer, whom authorities have identified as the shooter, remained at large Thursday, while Shalonda Mixon was apprehended Thursday afternoon by the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, citing U.S. Marshals supervisor Charles Sanso.
Brewer fired several shots and is charged with felonious assault, tampering with evidence and two weapons counts, Prosecutor Melissa Powers said at a news conference Thursday. Shalonda Mixon is charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing justice. Brewer faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts, while Shalonda Mixon faces up to four years. It was not known if either had an attorney to speak for them
Joe Mixon owns his gun legally and faces no charges, Powers said.
The March 6 shooting happened as several juveniles were playing dart wars, where teams shoot at each other with foam dart guns, Powers said. She added that Joe Mixon had been receiving death threats and was concerned when he heard people were running around nearby with weapons. She said the running back was in the yard with Brewer when the shots rang out, but Brewer — armed with a Zastava pistol, which resembles an AK-47 and fires the same round — acted independently.
Surveillance footage from Joe Mixon’s home captured the shooting and also showed Shalonda Mixon collecting shell casings from the yard before she and Brewer left the home, Powers said. She said Brewer and others should have been able to tell that the numerous youths playing the dart wars game were carrying toy weapons.
The shooting victim, a 16-year-old boy, was hit by at least one shot and was treated at a hospital. He has since been released.
Mixon’s agent, Peter Schaffer, said in a prepared statement Thursday that the prosecutor’s finding that the player did nothing wrong “is the conclusion we expected based on the facts that clearly show Joe is innocent.”
Schaffer said his client had returned home from California on the day of the shooting and — due to the threats — became concerned that night when he saw “a number of vehicles” had pulled up at his house and blocked the street. He also saw one person with what appeared to be “a long gun” and went outside to try to determine what was going on, not to confront anyone.
No one responded to a message left Thursday with the Bengals.