Devin Bush: ‘I want to become a better NFL player’

While Steelers players await the time they can reconvene with their teammates for traditional workout activities, virtual meetings and personal workouts fill the day. The team is one of several that are currently not participating in virtual workouts.

Second-year linebacker Devin Bush works out every other day, takes meetings and hits the field with his dad and brother.

Everyone is itching to get back to a sense of normalcy. Until then, Bush reflects back on last season and is grateful for how his rookie year went.

“Coming out of last season, I was just proud and happy I finished my first season healthy, that I was able to walk away and not have anything happen to me where I had to go through any surgeries and then extra rehab and things like that,” Bush said Tuesday via video conference call with Pittsburgh media.

“As for working on my game, I want to become a better NFL player and a better person off the field as well as on the field, being a better professional and carrying myself in that way.”

With a deficiency at inside linebacker, Bush should have ample opportunity to become better. The Steelers are thin at ILB depth after cutting Mark Barron and losing Tyler Matakevich in free agency.

Reserves behind Bush and fellow linebacker Vince Williams boil down to undrafted free agents. Ulysees Gilbert and Robert Spillane have been with the Steelers since 2019 and have played sparingly on special teams. USC’s John Houston and Mississippi State’s Leo Lewis joined the team in April and will offer offseason competition.

Bush had a solid rookie season and led the Steelers ILB group with 889 snaps. Barron came in second with 750, followed by Williams with 396 snaps.

Although Bush is up for the challenge of increasing his reps, he makes a good point. “To take more, I think, would be a bad thing because that would be saying we’re not that good on offense,” he said.

“I have no doubt that Vince and I can go out there and control the defense.”