fans saw him as a local boy made good; the Superdome was packed with large crowds by USFL standards. The Breakers moved to Portland, Oregon for the 1985 season. Dupree was late arriving at Breakers' training camp in San Dimas, California that season, but performed well enough to earn a starting position for the season opener at Sun Devil Stadium against the Arizona Outlaws. He got off to a good start, rushing 69 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown. While he was carrying the ball early in the second half, he suffered a severe knee injury and was taken off on a stretcher. He had surgery on the knee and recuperated in Portland, celebrating his 21st birthday with friends and teammates. However, he would never play another down for the Breakers. NFL After Dupree had been out of football for four years, he met with Walter Payton on some business ventures and Payton urged him to get back into shape to try out for the NFL again in 1990. Dupree agreed and began working out, losing 100 pounds in just over three months and going back to running a 4.3 40-yard dash. In October 1990, Dupree signed with the Los Angeles Rams, who had drafted him in 1986 in case he became fit again, after a five-and-a-half-year absence from the football field. In April that year, he asked his former USFL coach, Dick Coury, then the quarterbacks coach for the Rams, if he could work out for the team if he got into shape, and impressed Coury and head coach John Robinson enough to earn a contract. Dupree was placed on injured reserve, meaning he would have to sit out for four weeks before he could play for the Rams. During week nine of the 1990 season, Dupree made his first appearance and rushed for 22 yards on four carries, wearing number 34 in honor of Payton instead of his usual 22. He started his first game in week 16 and rushed for 42 yards on 13 carries. He finished his first NFL season with 72 yards on 19 carries, in three games played. In 1991, Dupree missed the first seven games due to a toe injury suffered in practice. Returning in week 8, he played more often and scored his only NFL touchdown that year. He finished the season with 179 yards on 49 carries with one touchdown,