Devin Bush leaves Steelers, signs 1-year deal with Seahawks
Assessing his football future last summer at training camp, Devin Bush wasn’t concerned that the Pittsburgh Steelers declined the fifth-year option on his contract, making him a free agent this offseason.
“I’m gonna still be in the NFL,” Bush said in August. “So, we’ll see.”
Bush turned out to be prophetic even if he didn’t get a multi-year deal on the open market. On the third day of NFL free agency, the embattled former Steelers linebacker agreed to a one-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
The former No. 10 overall draft pick’s fall from grace with the Steelers was such that they agreed to multi-year contracts with two veteran inside linebackers — Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts — while Bush remained on the open market.
Bush’s future — or lack thereof — with the Steelers was cemented late in the 2022 season when he lost his starting job to former undrafted free agent Robert Spillane. Bush played just five snaps in divisional games against the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns — games the Steelers needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Bush led the Steelers with 109 tackles in his rookie season, but his career never was the same after he tore his ACL in the fifth game of the 2020 season. He had 70 tackles in 2021 and 81 last season while becoming a lightning rod for fan criticism over his tentative play.
It was prior to last season the Steelers declined to exercise the fifth-year option on Bush’s contract, making him a free agent this offseason.
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
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