The Pittsburgh Steelers first training camp practice of 2019 is scheduled to take place on Friday at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe and on after two unpadded sessions take place in those first two day, the first pared one is scheduled to happen on Sunday. After a strong showing the team’s offseason spring practices in shorts, Steelers rookie inside linebacker Devin Bush, the team’s first-round draft pick out of Michigan, will look to pick up in pads where he left off roughly six weeks ago. His veteran teammate, cornerback Joe Haden, made it clear on Monday that he’s excited to watch the maturation process of Bush now continue at Latrobe.
“I’ve seen he’s smart,” Haden said of Bush after being asked about him during a one-on-one interview with Rich Eisen on his show. “You know, he’s in there calling plays, making checks, I’m just really excited to see him in camp. You know, playing with shorts on it is one thing, but when you get those pads on for training camp, this is going to be something special.”
Bush’s strong spring showing in the unpadded practices included him getting a lot of work with the first-team defense and that’s a sign that this year’s first-round draft pick might play extensively in the team’s Week 1 road game against the New England Patriots. Will Bush start that Week 1 game like former Steelers first-round draft picks, safety Terrell Edmunds and outside linebacker T.J. Watt, both did the last two seasons? We’ll have to wait and see.
Throughout the summer, Bush has posted several videos of his workouts on his social media accounts as well as a few of the accounts of his trainers. He looks like he’s in amazing physical shape with just a few days remaining before the start of the Steelers 2019 training camp.
At one point during the offseason Watt commented on Bush’s speed and said the Michigan product was “quick as snot.” On Monday, Haden also commented to Eisen on just how quick the Steelers rookie inside linebacker is.
“And he’s fast, so can’t wait to see him in coverage,” Haden said. “So, I’m just excited for him.”
If Bush plays extensively for the Steelers right out of the chute in Week 1 and he remains healthy and productive throughout his rookie season, he should have a decent chance to win the NFL’s annual Defensive Rookie of the Year award. The last Steelers player to win that award was inside linebacker Kendrell Bell in 2001 when he registered 83 total tackles, 9 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 1 forced fumble in the 16 games he started that season.
