Devin Bush was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ next great linebacker. The Ryan Shazier replacement as a new-age defender with sideline-to-sideline range. Instead, he became one of Mike Tomlin’s biggest busts. Spending four years in Pittsburgh and phased out by the end, Bush has reinvented himself with another AFC North team. Now the second-leading tackler on the Cleveland Browns, Tomlin sees the difference between the version he had and the one he’ll face Sunday.
“I just think he’s healthy,” Tomlin told host Bob Pompeani during the weekly Mike Tomlin Show. “That knee injury that he suffered while he was a member of our football team was really catastrophic for him. He had to regain his footing and, in some ways, reestablish himself. You’re never purely the same on the other side of major injury. And so I think what we’re looking at is just him adapting and adjusting.”
Bush tore his ACL during his second NFL season, a freak injury that came against, coincidentally enough, the Browns. He missed the rest of the season, an especially tough year to get hurt in the midst of the COVID pandemic. In normal years, it’s easy to feel detached after suffering an injury. Especially so given the restrictions of that season and the ensuing months before protocols were lifted.
Bush returned to play Week 1 of 2021, but he struggled. His run defense was poor, he wasn’t aggressive enough downhill, and his speed didn’t translate to athletic play. Social media immaturity also crept up while off-field actions have followed him, Bush arrested for simple assault earlier this year.
While Bush would go on to start the bulk of the next two seasons in Pittsburgh, he was never fully trusted as the guy. Late in 2022, he was removed from the starting lineup and played just 10 snaps over the final two regular-season games. The Steelers let him walk in free agency, and he signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks. In 2024, he returned to the division to sign with Cleveland where his father, Devin Sr., once played safety.
Inked to a one-year deal, Bush finished with 76 tackles and one sack. His play spiked enough interest for Cleveland to not only re-sign him for 2025 but make him a starter. Rookie Carson Schwesinger is the every-down, green-dot linebacker but Bush plays in base and nickel packages, logging 81-percent of the snaps and only trailing Schwesinger in tackles. In just five games this year, Bush has a sack, forced fumble, and three pass breakups. He never had more than four breakups in Pittsburgh.
Though Tomlin hopes Bush makes a muted impact in Sunday’s game, he’s glad to see the former first-round pick turn the corner.
“He’s marched his way back and good for him,” Tomlin said. “I’m happy for him. But it’s just a sign of how significant particularly knee injuries can be. It can derail you not only for that year, but for a couple of years as you regain your professional footing.”
Some players also mature and develop later than others. Bush was 21 years old during his rookie year carrying big expectations. A seven-year veteran, he just turned 27 this summer. Not every NFL player follows the same timeline. Had Bush entered the NFL a little bit older and hadn’t gotten hurt, he might have been a different player in Pittsburgh. A better player in Pittsburgh. And one who remained a Steeler instead of now playing for the Browns. That story can’t be rewritten. All Bush has done is turn the page and he deserves credit for doing so.
