Veteran free-agent linebacker Bud Dupree is signing a contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Saturday night.

Dupree, 31, had his best season since 2020, notching 6.5 sacks and 39 tackles with 8 tackles for loss and 8 quarterback hits for the Falcons. He quickly emerged as the team’s top standup edge rusher in Atlanta’s defensive scheme, often playing on many key snaps.

It was a nice rebound for Dupree after two seasons with the Tennessee Titans in which he missed 12 combined games and was a playing a little more than half the snaps. With the Falcons, he appeared in 68% of the team’s defensive snaps while he was active.

Dupree, a 2015 first-round pick, spent his first six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He broke the 10-sack barrier 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’s played in 119 career games (99 starts) with 305 tackles, 53 sacks and 70 tackles for loss.