Steelers Devin Bush put on notice after Joe Schobert trade

Some recent conversations with Steelers’ new linebacker Schobert should make fans question what Bush’s role with the team may be going forward.

By every account, the Steelers trading for veteran Joe Schobert should be seen as a win. The team only gave up a sixth-round pick for a well-established veteran that can serve a multitude of roles on this defense. As well, the Jaguars are taking on approximately half of his scheduled 2021 salary in this deal, meaning the team’s immediate cap hit isn’t going to change significantly. Finally, the team had a need next to Devin Bush, as inside linebacker had quite a few question marks since Vince Williams retired. Schobert is certainly an answer in that regard.

Does this deal mean that the team may not be content with Bush though? On the surface, the answer is an easy no, as the team didn’t give up much to acquire Schobert and Bush is seen as an ascending player in the league. Add in the heavy investment it took for the Steelers to acquire Bush and it would seem like the team intends to keep Bush in his full-time capacity while Schobert serves as the second linebacker.

This was all until a recent interview that Schobert had with the team. In it, he indicates that the team seemingly wants him to be the communicator for the defense and wear the green dot. This role is critical for the defense, and typically the player that dons the green dot plays 100 percent of the time.

Take last year, when Robert Spillane ended up with the green dot after Bush was lost for the season. No, he never played every snap despite being the defensive communicator, but he did see his snap counts normally sit between 80 to 90 percent per game. For an unproven player at the time, this was a huge jump and an indicator of just how much playing time the person with the green dot will see.

Steelers should be comfortable with Schobert in this role

Now, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the team likes the idea of Schobert having the role of communicator for the defense. He is an experienced and talented player that has been successful in both pass defense and run defense. While far from a perfect player, when paired with a talented defense, Schobert could really shine.

What does this mean for Steelers Bush?

The issue is, if Schobert takes the green dot, Bush won’t be playing 100 percent of the defensive snaps. Dime will ultimately go to Schobert, meaning Bush’s snap count would likely only be between 70-80 percent of the total defensive snaps. That is still starting numbers, but it would be a disappointment to see Bush fall into that range and essentially serve as the second inside linebacker.

Considering the trade-up and top ten pick the team invested in Bush, the expectation wasn’t just for him to be a full-time starter, but it was for him to be one of the top players at his position. He hasn’t done that yet, even though he was showing some improvements last season before the year was cut short by injury. If Schobert becomes the de-facto starter though, it will indicate that Bush is trending away from developing into the top-tier defender the Steelers were hoping to get.

Add in the fact that the Steelers will have to decide if he is worth his first-round option next season and suddenly this trade for Schobert is all the more intriguing. Bush certainly has had an interesting off-season on Twitter and add in the slower than anticipated development and the team may be set to not crown Bush the leader of their defense. It certainly will be telling what the snap count looks like between the two by the season’s end.

In no way is this a critique of the Schobert trade or sentiment that Bush is heading towards the bench next season. Assuming both players stay healthy, they will be critical defenders and starters for the Steelers’ defense. That said, if Schobert takes on the communicator role and plays more snaps than Bush does, it could be a strong signal that the team isn’t ready to commit long term to their former first-round pick. It isn’t what I would do per se, but the team trading for Schobert and expecting him to be the communicator on defense has to put Bush on notice.