Pros and Cons of Steelers trading Devin Bush at the deadline

Pros of Steelers trying to trade Devin Bush at the trade deadline.

I’ll be honest when I say this, I wasn’t expecting the pros list to be this long when initially researching this post. On paper, it seems like a no-brainer to just keep Bush around. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to explore a trade.

It isn’t often an athletic top ten defender gets exposed to the trade block, and teams may be willing to overpay a little bit for the time left on Bush’s deal and his promise as a player. If the team could somehow recoup a first-round pick (very unlikely), it could make sense to trade Bush while his value is still that high. More likely could be a swap of players or a few day-two picks to send Bush packing.

For a team that will need to rebuild soon, likely next offseason, additional draft picks are always key. Now, if the Steelers view Bush in their long-term plans, trading him would be pointless. However, if the team doesn’t plan on extending him, then he may not be a part of this team once they are competitive again. That means trading him now would make a lot more sense.

Thus, the argument here isn’t entirely “is Bush good enough to keep.” It’s more so “does the team view him as a long-term answer at inside linebacker.” As of now, it’s hard to imagine him earning a second contract with the team, and even his fifth-year option isn’t a lock right now. If his play continues to trend in that direction, trading him now makes sense.

Despite not playing at an elite level, his value should still be relatively high right now. He still has two controllable years left on his deal, so teams would have time before having to commit to him on a new contract. Minkah Fitzpatrick was in a similar situation before the Dolphins traded him. He was underwhelming, but still netted a first-round pick, because of his potential and team control over him.

As well, Bush hasn’t stepped up as you need a player like him to. He has seen his role on the defense shrink this season as players like Joe Schobert and even Robert Spillane have subbed out Bush on occasion. He doesn’t command the defense as he needs to and isn’t a great communicator. Add that in with his mediocre play and you have the circumstance he is in now: an average player but a disappointing first-round pick.

Lastly, some of his off-the-field issues with social media make you question his character going forward. His offseason twitter activities were questionable at best, and it has caused many to rethink Bush as one of the faces of this defense. All of this added together, it seems unlikely that the Steelers will keep him around long term right now. If that’s the case, trading him now presents the team with more value than holding on to him.