Devin Bush says being in Seattle is far different than his time in Pittsburgh. And he’s not just talking about being on the opposite coast. In a radio interview with Seattle’s KJR host Ian Furness, Bush said the culture in Seattle is a lot different.
“One-eighty, completely,” he said when asked about the culture difference. “Something I’m looking forward to. I can’t wait to get in there and then get against my first opponent and shoot the lights out. That’s what I’m looking forward to. I’m excited. I can’t wait to get out there and just start yelling with my teammates and the coaches and just get this thing going.”
Bush didn’t specify how the Seahawks’ culture is different. Of course, he’s new to Seattle and has hardly been around his new team, signing a one-year deal less than a month ago on March 17th. Similar to Pittsburgh, the Seahawks are led by a tenured and veteran head coach in Pete Carroll. Bush said the coaching staff was a key reason why he signed with the team.
A top-10 pick, Bush’s time in Pittsburgh was always bumpy. With the weight of high expectations to replace Ryan Shazier. After a serviceable but unspectacular rookie season, Bush showed improvement in 2020 before tearing his ACL. He missed the rest of the year, and though he worked hard to gain clearance to start 2021, he looked every bit as shaky as a player might coming off a serious knee injury. He played hesitant instead of downhill and got swallowed up by blocks. Though he still showed speed, he rarely used it to make a splash play.
Pittsburgh obviously declined his fifth-year option, and he finished out the 2022 season mostly on the sidelines, rarely used in the Steelers’ final games against run-heavy opponents in the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. There was zero interest from either side in working out a deal ahead of free agency and Bush confirmed the Steelers told him they weren’t trying to bring him back. Now, he’ll take a one-year prove it deal in Seattle.
Perhaps the culture is different. He’ll benefit from playing next to a future Hall of Fame linebacker in Bobby Wagner, who returned to Seattle after spending a year with the Los Angeles Rams. A change of scenery may do Bush some good. But what’ll do him even better is to improve his play. If that doesn’t happen, the culture won’t matter.
