Joey Porter ripped Ben Roethlisberger on the NFL Network, but the former Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker coach was effusive in his praise of the addition of No. 1 draft pick Devin Bush.
Porter appeared on the NFL Network and said the inside linebacker, who was selected No. 10 overall last month, finally will alleviate the loss of Ryan Shazier to a spinal-cord injury. Bush was working with the first-team defense this week at organized team activities at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex in the South Side.
“I think he’s going to bring instant splash,” said Porter, a four-time Pro Bowl linebacker with the Steelers who was fired by the team in January after four seasons as their outside linebackers coach. “He’s going to be a guy that can go out there and call the defense and makes the Pittsburgh defense not have to try to use so many people to try and create a Ryan Shazier. That’s what we did a year ago. We had a lot of different packages to try to make two and three people be Ryan.
“When you have a Devin Bush, you can leave him on the field. You know he’s a smart guy. His dad is a football coach. He’s been in football his whole life. I think he comes right into the system and does his job and makes a lot of plays and brings that nasty back to the defense.”
Bakersfield Native Joey Porter gives his approval of Steelers 1st Round Pick Devin Bush who is wearing what was once Porter’s number 55?#ThisIsBakersfieldpic.twitter.com/cTtmeCKskz
— Bakersfield Sports News (@BakoSportsNews) May 25, 2019
Porter wasn’t as quick to say Bush will be a leader on the defense, assigning that to a pair of Pro Bowl performers in defensive end Cameron Heyward and outside linebacker T.J. Watt, but said Bush “can definitely be a part of that.
“When you add a guy like Devin to that defense, I mean he’s going to be surrounded by pieces and they’re going to look for him to make a lot of plays, and I think he can,” Porter said. “I think he’s a (heck) of a football player.”
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