When the Steelers gave up first- and second-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft and a third-rounder in 2020, to move up to the 10th spot in 2019 select linebacker Devin Bush, it was with the idea he would be a guy who would never need to leave the field.
After losing Ryan Shazier to a career-ending injury late in the 2017, they had tried some different things to replicate him the following season, signing safety Morgan Burnett and Jon Bostic in free agency that year in a failed effort to solve the issue.
Adding Bush, it was assumed, would give the team a player capable of doing everything the team had asked of Shazier, a first-round draft pick in 2014, who had blossomed to become a Pro Bowl player in 2016 and 2017.
Shazier had some early struggles in his first two seasons, overrunning plays and sliding off tackles. But he made up for that by being a player who produced big plays. The Steelers are going through some similar issues with Bush right now as the undersized speedy hit-and-run linebacker has also shown a tendency to overrun plays at times and miss a tackle -- though he's only been credited with two this season according to Pro Football Reference. He also has yet to get his hands on a pass this season after having three pass defenses in the first five games of last season.
What's truly been missing from Bush's game are impact plays. While the third-year linebacker has two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, he's not made the Year 3 jump that Shazier did, when he went from being a good player to a great one.
The Steelers (3-3) need that from Bush, considering what they gave up to get him. They could use that especially this week heading into a game against the run-heavy Browns (4-3). These are the kind of games Bush for which he was drafted to be a major factor.
"Play the run as best I can," Bush said of his goal this week. "Stop the run and move on."
Of course, Bush is is coming off a season in which he was limited to just five games in 2020 because of a torn ACL, something that has perhaps slowed his trajectory. But after the Steelers gave up so much draft capital to acquire his services, Bush isn't necessarily going to get the benefit of the doubt from fans eager for him to become a star.
Though he's in his third season, he's played just 26 career games -- less than two seasons worth.
But the Steelers need him to be better.
"I think all of us would say, including him, that we’d like to be better than we were," defensive coordinator Keith Butler said of Bush. "What are we in defense in the league, 13th? I don’t like that. It’s a continuing journey for all of us. When you’ve been hurt and you’re coming back from an injury, sometimes it’s a little bit harder than you think. It doesn’t just automatically happen in the National Football League.
"The competition is too intense just to come out after missing a long time and expect to be the same way you were before you got hurt. It’s not going to be that way. You’ve got to keep working at it, and he is. He’s continued to work at it. I think he’ll get better. He’ll play better."
Bush doesn't feel the ACL injury is holding him back, though he also missed a game earlier this season with a groin injury, as well.
"I think I’m over that part. I think it’s more just staying healthy now," Bush said. "I don’t have any apprehension or anything holding me back. I don’t think too much about my injury. I feel good, my body feels good, my knee feels good. I’m just out there competing."
When he's been on the field. Prior to his injury, Bush played 100 percent of the defensive snaps a year ago. This year, he's been coming off the field more, as he continues to work his way back to what he was.
The Steelers' injuries up front also have an effect. Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu have been limited to one combined game this season, leaving younger players to fill those roles on the defensive line.
That's allowed more blockers to get to the second level against the Steelers, negating Bush's biggest asset -- his speed.
Butler has adjusted for that by playing backup Robert Spillane more at times in place of Bush or fellow inside linebacker Joe Schobert. While he admits the defensive linemen have been an issue, he knows the linebackers have to be better getting off blocks, as well.
"You can’t always keep them free. (Sometimes) they have got somebody assigned to them," Butler said. "So, we’re going to have to get off blocks as linebackers. We’re going to have get off blocks up front."
If he can do that moving forward, the Steelers defense can perhaps begin to make more big plays.
But it's been a process -- one the Steelers need to move along more quickly.
"He suffered a serious injury. He’s an athletic linebacker. You get hurt like that, it takes its toll on you," safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said of Bush. "It takes time to develop and get back right. He came back faster than most guys. Having him on the field is good for us. It’s beneficial for us. I think over the course of this season, course of time, he’ll work his way back to where he used to be."
