Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Devin Bush had a rocky time in his four years in Pittsburgh. After a promising rookie season, a torn ACL in year two stunted his growth as a player as he struggled to regain the form he had in his rookie season. Because of this, the Steelers didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, something that Bush said came as a surprise to him.
Today, Bush appeared on The Ian Furness Show in Seattle and was asked if he knew why his fifth-year option wasn’t picked up.
“I wish I knew, but to this day, I have no answer,” Bush said. “But one thing I can say when one door closes another door opens, so I’m excited for the opportunity. The way I felt about it. I knew it was a business, they obviously told me that I wasn’t in the future of the Steelers, so that’s fine. There’s 31 other teams out there. Seattle’s one of them and look where I’m at.”
Bush saying he doesn’t know why he didn’t get his fifth-year option picked up its likely to save face. Bush played poorly in 2021 and he didn’t improve all that much in 2022. His inability to shed blocks and make splash plays really hurt. After the ACL injury, he didn’t show off the speed that was his calling card coming out of college. The reasons for Bush not continuing his career in Pittsburgh were obvious to anyone watching, even to those who were high on him coming out of Michigan.
Bush was not a real fan favorite in Pittsburgh after 2021. He basically knew the writing was on the wall last training camp, saying that he wasn’t concerned about the fifth-year option as he would still be playing in the NFL the next season.
The Seattle Seahawks are giving him that opportunity and the former top-10 pick has a chance to turn his career around under the coaching of Pete Carroll. I think at this point both the Steelers and Bush are happy their relationship ended. Hopefully for Bush he can turn his career around, but I don’t think the Steelers will lose any sleep about these comments as they’ve completely overhauled their inside linebacker room this offseason.
