The Pittsburgh Steelers’ reputation as being one of the very best teams in the NFL in the draft during the 2000s rested largely on their tremendous success in the first round. From Troy Polamalu and Ben Roethlisberger to Heath Miller and Santonio Holmes up to Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro and Cameron Heyward, former general manager Kevin Colbert couldn’t miss.
At least not for a while. Some players never fully blossomed into what they’d hoped, like Ziggy Hood, but it wasn’t until 2013’s Jarvis Jones that they hit on their first two busts; sadly not the last one. Artie Burns in 2016 followed, and it may be time to officially put Devin Bush in that pile as well.
Drafted 10th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Steelers traded up 10 spots to get him, sending to the Denver Broncos additional second- and third-round picks along with their own first-rounder, essentially claiming most of their first two days’ worth of selections.
He had a promising rookie season, but that’s largely where it ended. By the end of his fourth season, he was all but benched, logging just 10 snaps in the final two games in spite of the fact that the Steelers were dealing with injuries at the position. They simply felt they had better answers.
And Bush likely feels the same way as it concerns his future team. That seems to be the growing consensus, with Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola joining that chorus. Asked if he believed the Steelers will retain him, he responded, “I think Devin Bush will be looking for a change of scenery once he officially becomes an unrestricted free agent on March 15”.
You probably didn’t need to be sitting down before reading that. I can’t imagine anybody being surprised at this point, even if the Steelers do have some decisions to make at inside linebacker this offseason.
In addition to Bush, Robert Spillane and Marcus Allen will also be unrestricted free agents in March. Spillane has been a sort of third starter for the past couple of years, often at Bush’s expense. Myles Jack is under contract for the 2023 season, but perhaps not comfortably so with an $8 million base salary owed him.
Regardless of what they may decide to do with Spillane and Jack, it’s not clear that they would have much interest in retaining Bush. It’s even less clear that Bush would want to stay in Pittsburgh. He didn’t seem too bothered by the idea of playing in another city next season when asked about the topic in training camp.
He also seemed to be Tweeting through his stream of consciousness during the 2022 postseason. During a Philadelphia Eagles game, he mused about the potential of playing for a head coach who actually played in the NFL as a player.
Bush earned a little under $19 million on a fully guaranteed four-year rookie contract, which officially expires at the start of the new league year. The Steelers did not pick up his fifth-year option; they didn’t for 2018 first-round pick Terrell Edmunds, either, but ended up re-signing him. I wouldn’t count on Bush coming back, however, unless he simply has no market and nobody else to sign with.
