Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Devin Bush Jr. was arrested earlier today in Allegheny county with charges of simple assault and harassment, per a court document shared by KDKA’s Colin Dunlap on X.
Bush was the Steelers’ first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, moving up from No. 20 to No. 10 in a trade with the Denver Broncos to draft him. While he had a promising rookie season that earned him Defensive Rookie of the Year consideration, a knee injury set him back early on in his career.
Multiple seasons of trying to recapture his promising rookie season form failed. By the end of the 2022 season, he had been benched by the Steelers in favor of Robert Spillane and Mark Robinson.
The Steelers ultimately declined his fifth-year option and Bush ended up signing with the Seattle Seahawks on a one-year deal in 2023. The Bush experiment set the inside linebacker position back a few years in Pittsburgh and they just finally found solutions with Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Cole Holcomb and others in recent seasons.
The Steelers also shipped off their second-round pick in 2019 as well as a 2020 third-round pick for Bush, so it really limited their draft value over the next couple years as well.
Most recently, Bush was a member of the Cleveland Browns on a one-year deal in 2024. He started 10 games for the Browns and logged 76 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, three passes defensed, one quarterback hit and a sack.
The Browns extended him on another one-year deal worth $3.25 million with $2.97 million guaranteed, per Over The Cap. He was likely to play in a rotational role this season, but the Browns did draft LB Carson Schewsinger in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
In a crowded linebacker room, we will see what ramifications this legal issue could potentially have for Bush sticking on the Browns’ roster.
There are no further details available about the incident at this time. This is likely to be a developing story.
