Pros and Cons of Steelers trading Devin Bush at the deadline

Cons of Steelers trying to trade Devin Bush at the trade deadline

The list of cons here is unsurprisingly long. For starters, while his play hasn’t been great so far, he is only 23-years old. Even with this being his third season in the league, Bush still has a lot of time to develop into the caliber of player the Steelers thought they were getting when they traded up for him.

Speaking of the trade-up, the Steelers are a notoriously stubborn franchise. While yes, they have been wrong with players countless times, they rarely admit that mistake. Both Artie Burns and Jarvis Jones played out their entire rookie contracts despite being conventional busts for the team. Bush has played far better than either of them, so the odds the team doesn’t give him through his rookie contract seems farfetched.

The Steelers aren’t particularly deep at linebacker either right now. Trading Bush would lead to an unproven player like Ulysees Gilbert or a rookie like Buddy Johnson having to step up despite not being ready to play right away. It doesn’t signify the team is throwing in the proverbial towel for the season, but it would certainly trend them more in that direction.

Bush is still healing from an injury as well. While he hasn’t been as explosive of a player as he was last season, he may not be able to use his knee at full strength. Even if it has completely healed up, Bush may be hesitant as he doesn’t want to reinjure himself. Him still being limited by his knee would certainly explain some of his recent mediocre play.

Speaking of his actual on-field contributions, it should be noted that Bush hasn’t played terribly. By all accounts, he has been an average defender when on the field. Is that disappointing for a rookie that you traded up for? Yes, but he is far from a draft bust. Realistically, trading Bush signifies that the team is giving up on an average player as they don’t believe they can develop him into a top contributor. The Steelers are a proud franchise, and they may not be willing to go down this route.