Teryl Austin indicates Devin Bush to regain bigger role in Steelers’ defense this week
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Devin Bush barely played on defense during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most recent game. And when he did play, it generally did not go well. Furthermore, Bush might not have played against the Baltimore Ravens on defense at all if not for Myles Jack’s injury.
But, to hear Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin tell it Thursday, Bush’s banishment to the bench was mostly just a one-off, gameplan-based strategy.
“We are going to need Devin to play,” Austin said before practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
“That was pretty specific last week what we were doing in Baltimore. I would expect you’d probably see Devin a little bit more this week.”
Bush played just five defensive snaps against the Ravens, by far a career low. Rookie Mark Robinson instead made the start (in only his third NFL game) and played half the snaps. Robert Spillane — who for the first three seasons of his Steelers career was a backup to Bush — continued to be an every-down linebacker.
That’s quite a downfall for Bush, the No. 10 overall pick of the 2019 draft whom the Steelers deployed for 82% of the snaps he was available for as a rookie and 100% of them his second season until a torn ACL ended it during Week 5.
Up until the Steelers’ past three games (all victories), Bush had played three-quarters of the Steelers’ snaps. He’s down to 33.8% over the past three games. A pending unrestricted free agent for whom the Steelers last year declined his fifth-year option, Bush’s time with the Steelers could be coming to an end.
Still, Austin said Bush hasn’t been a problem in the locker room.
“Devin’s a pro,” Austin said. “Nobody likes to be in or out, kind of not in there as much as they are used to being. But he handled it like a true pro.”
Of Bush’s five snaps played defensively during the 16-13 win against the Ravens, on one he was beat clean by tight end Mark Andrews for what was Baltimore’s longest passing gain of the day (19 yards). On another, he had the tackle after a 4-yard rush. Bush was also involved in the scrum late in the first half that got Cameron Heyward flagged for a personal foul that led to a Ravens touchdown.
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