It appears as though the Steelers are set to roll with what they at inside linebacker which could prove disastrous if no one can adequately replace Bush
Devin Bush tearing his ACL was an unfortunate injury for the Steelers and one that will likely cause a few concerns on defense going forward. While the Steelers have quite a few options on their bench, it seems like a hole that could be best filled with an outside option. Now, this doesn’t mean forcing an outside option into a starting role like what the Steelers did with Sean Spence a few years ago. This was a disaster, and the Steelers’ refusal to play L.J. Fort was a mistake that cost them wins.
It appears as though the Steelers are set to do the opposite though, and not bring in a single body at the position. This can lead to equally bad results as if the current options on the roster fail to make an impact, it could force the Steelers to overspend on a trade or plug a free agent in with little time for them to acclimate. I wrote recently about a few players who would make sense to be brought in this week so they can learn the defense, yet it appears as if no significant move will be made there.
While one of the options on the roster could fill in with little disruption, adding a new body to the room is still safe. Considering the veteran spots on the practice squad, the Steelers could at the very least add a body there. If the backups falter this week, the Steelers will be behind on replacing Bush which could lead to a string of losses.
The Steelers’ current in-house options are all risks in replacing Bush, and the Steelers are unwise for banking on them to produce without adding insurance. All of this said, here are the reasons each linebacker candidate is a risk to replace Devin Bush.