The Pittsburgh Steelers parted ways with five of the six inside linebackers who spent time on their 53-man roster last season, the last man standing being Mark Robinson. A seventh-round pick in 2022, he was considered a project, and the Steelers signed two veterans this offseason to start over him.
But the reason they were in the market for starters is because, as mentioned, they turned over the entire room, including the three who started games for them last season. Among them was Devin Bush, their 2019 first-round pick, for whom they traded up 10 spots from 20th overall in order to get him.
Although he retired just before the start of training camp in 2021, perhaps few know Devin Bush the football player better than former Steelers linebacker Vince Williams. He recently shared his thoughts on the subject with the Steelers Sanctuary podcast with David Ribeiro.
“I think Devin is a mystery to me”, he admitted, immediately jumping in to dispel a common myth about the former Michigan Wolverine. “I’ve seen people say that Devin don’t like football, but he really loves football. That was evident in his rookie year”.
Bush was in the running for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and nearly even made the Pro Bowl. He became the first Steelers rookie in team history to record 100-plus tackles, with nine for loss. He also recorded two interceptions and recovered four fumbles, scoring a touchdown on one of them.
He didn’t post anything close to those stat lines later, however. While he was developing in year two, he suffered a torn ACL in week five, and was never the same player again. Indeed, he had an abysmal year in 2021, and one wonders if he would have even survived into 2022 had his contract not been guaranteed.
“He was having tremendous amount of upside. I think that the knee injury did play a role in his development, and how far he fell behind”, Williams said. “I think he also was also a very young guy. A 20-year-old in the NFL is a very difficult thing to handle”.
In spite of how things spiraled out of proportion in Pittsburgh, however, Williams still believes there is a good future for Bush in the NFL, now a member of the Seattle Seahawks after signing when them as a free agent in 2023.
“I think he’s gonna have a productive NFL career because he’s so young. Even if he plays ‘til he’s 30 he’s gonna play, what, 10 years in the NFL?”, he said. “With that type of athletic ability, you just never know what can happen”.
Whatever happens won’t be in Pittsburgh. It seems clear that the Steelers made no effort of any kind to negotiate for a return. They were of the mindset to move on. They may or may not have intended to part with Robert Spillane as well, but they released Myles Jack. Now they have Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts running the show.
