Bud Dupree was not a fan of James Harrison joining the Patriots

[caption id="attachment_230717" align="aligncenter" width="3000"] Oct 22, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Bud DuPree (48) in the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports[/caption] Yesterday afternoon, news leaked out that former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison would be signing with the New England Patriots, sparking obvious controversy in the football world. As you may know, the Patriots defeated the Steelers two weeks ago on a last-minute overturned touchdown reception, and the trash talk has been continuous ever since. Both teams are expected to meet back up in the AFC Championship in a few weeks, and Harrison joining the rival just added gas to the flame. If you were on social media throughout the afternoon, you may have seen former Kentucky star Bud Dupree's name get thrown into the mix as a reason for Harrison's departure. According to several football analysts, the emergence of Dupree and T.J. Watt in the pass rush has limited the need for Harrison on the field, and was one of the key reasons the new Patriot was released from the team on December 23. According to Dupree, that wasn't the reason for his release at all.

“I look on my Instagram, Twitter, people bashing me like I got something to do with him getting cut. Like what?” he said.

Harrison told reporters he asked for a release three times this season due to lack of promised playing time. Dupree said Harrison wasn't a "victim" and that his lack of presence in team meetings and lack of interest in the team led to his release. Beyond that, he said signing with the Patriots was just a spit in the face. https://twitter.com/Bud_Dupree/status/946127682722463744

“It feels like he went to the Patriots just to spit in Coach Tomlin and Mr. Rooney’s face. That’s all it was to us,” Dupree said. “Like basically you spit on your teammates, you spit on us because the whole season you’ve been shown as someone different than what you were supposed to, so-called, be to us – other than a leader.”

The former Wildcat said the Steelers brought back Harrison to serve as a mentor to some of the young players on the defense like himself, but "it just didn't work" that way.

“He made it clear to us early [that he didn’t want to be here]. We try to look at Deebo as a mentor, as the O.G. of the team. We all tried to give him a chance just to be the leader and be the person that, before we got here, the Steelers portrayed him to be. Just coming in to it, you see James Harrison and because he’s this great player you try to follow his footsteps.

Needless to say, Bud isn't the happiest guy in the world right now, though he probably should be with all the playing time he's set to receive in the immediate future. Read the entire story on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.