Former Steelers 1st-round picks Artie Burns, Devin Bush to face Steelers for 1st time

At one point, the mere utterance of each of their names would elicit hope and excitement of a bright future by Pittsburgh Steelers fans.

By the end of their tenures with the franchise, though, many Steelers fans’ reactions instead were in the form of choice four-letter words.

Each will face their former team for the first time Sunday.

Inside linebacker Devin Bush and cornerback Artie Burns have been playing significant roles for the Seattle Seahawks defense in recent weeks. Seattle hosts the Steelers at 4:05 p.m. Sunday.

Burns, the No. 25 overall selection in the 2016 draft, has served as the Seahawks’ slot/nickel cornerback each of the past two games. Bush, for whom the Steelers traded up to 10th overall to select in 2019, has played significant snaps on defense in two of the past four Seattle games.

Each primarily has served in a special-teams role this season, but Bush and Burns have been called upon because of injuries to defensive starters.

“I remember seeing (Burns) here and always handled himself like a true professional,” Steelers star outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. “I am glad he was able to stick there in Seattle and create a role for himself, and then obviously Devin is a guy who came to work every day, was always trying to continue to get better in communication and playmaking and I know he had a setback with the injury as well. Look forward to seeing those guys this week.”

Burns, 28, became a starter for the Steelers midway through his rookie season and had the look of a shutdown corner by Year 2. But by the midpoint of the 2018 season, Burns was demoted, and the Steelers declined a fifth-year option on him before a 2019 season in which he played just 9% of the team’s defensive snaps.

Burns signed with the Chicago Bears the ensuing spring but suffered a season-ending torn ACL during training camp. He re-signed with Chicago in 2021 and was a part-time starter that season.

Burns joined the Seahawks in March 2022 and has appeared in 15 games with them since.

Bush likewise had the look of a budding Steelers star by early in his second season. But after a torn ACL suffered during Week 5 in 2020, he never seemed to be the same player again. By late last season, the Steelers effectively benched Bush. On a one-year, $3.5 million contract with Seattle, Bush has appeared in 11 games with two starts.

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