The Pittsburgh Steelers String Plot Against Former player On The Bases Of…
Emotions will be running high for Devin Bush as he gears up to start for the Seattle Seahawks against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team he spent his first four NFL seasons with coming out of Michigan, creating an interesting sub-plot for Sunday’s de facto playoff game at Lumen Field.
RENTON, Wash. – Only two months after suffering a torn ACL, the Seattle Seahawks knew they needed a quality veteran insurance policy to help safeguard against the possibility Jordyn Brooks would miss extended time during the 2023 season.
Wasting little time addressing the situation at linebacker once free agency opened, Seattle quickly identified former Pittsburgh first-round pick Devin Bush as a prioritized target. Impressed by what he saw in his visit to the VMAC with Pete Carroll and the coaching staff, the ex-Michigan star signed the dotted line on a one-year, $3.5 million deal hoping to jump start his once promising career in the Pacific Northwest.
Set to receive his second start in a Seahawks uniform in place of a banged-up Jordyn Brooks, Devin Bush will have to weather a storm of emotions going against his former team.
“We hoped that he’d be right in the midst of competition for playing time and all and contributing in a number of ways,” Carroll told reporters prior to Wednesday’s practice. “He’s a really good all-around athlete and he’s got good versatility to him. You’ve seen us play him on the edge quite a bit as an outside backer. He has all of that flexibility, and he’s a really good natural football player. He’s fit in. It’s been hard behind Bobby [Wagner] and Jordyn [Brooks] a good deal of the time, but his spirit has always been there.”
But when Bush has had a chance to play for the Seahawks, including jumping in for an injured Brooks for the entire second half in last Sunday’s 20-17 win over the Titans, he has made the most of his chances. Helping limit star running back Derrick Henry to just 30 yards on 11 carries in the final two quarters, he racked up a season-high six tackles and a tackle for loss, making a positive impact on defense during the comeback victory in Nashville.
In four seasons with the Steelers, Bush started 48 games, recording 286 tackles, four sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and two interceptions. A torn ACL of his own slowed him down after a stellar rookie season and ultimately, the franchise declined his fifth-year option and decided to move on from him last spring, pouring extra fuel on the fire leading up to Sunday’s game.
As Carroll noted, rather than downplay a game for a player against a former team, understanding the significance of such “special circumstances,” he tries to maximize the opportunity while also eliminating potential distractions that could negatively impact performance.
“The fact that he’s playing against his old team, and he got drafted by them and all of that kind of stuff, as well as gameplan and prepping and all of that, there’s a lot going on,” Carroll acknowledged. “This is an important week for him to be right down the middle and keep his head down and get his work done so that he can prepare well. What he wants to do is help his team play well, and he’s got to be really ready to do that.”
“There’s a reason to be distracted. First time he’s gotten to play a lot possibly and then his club and whatever else is going on. That’s the kind of guy I’m looking forward to hanging out a bit little with this week and talking him through it and just seeing how he’s doing and making sure that he’s level and clear.”