With Bush playing some underwhelming football right now, here are the arguments for and against the Steelers trying to flip the former top-ten pick before the trade deadline.
While his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers started with a lot of promise, Devin Bush has seen his 2021 season be filled with doubt and struggle. PFF has him graded at a relatively miserable 54.0 grade, and his play has been mostly reflective of that. Despite being a former top pick in the draft, Bush has progressively looked more and more like an average defender.
The Steelers trade deadline is different this year
Most of the time, the Steelers would be buyers heading into the trade deadline. This season is unfortunately different, as the team has struggled to remain competitive. While a 3-3 record isn’t bad, the only win that is deserving of accolades is Week 1, when the team beat the Buffalo Bills. Despite winning their past two games, it was against relatively bad teams in the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.
On top of that, neither win was notably impressive. Despite early leads, the Steelers nearly blew both games against inferior teams. Most notable was the previous game against the Seahawks, as the team was facing an injury-riddled team with Geno Smith at quarterback, and the game still went into overtime.
It wouldn’t be overly shocking to see the Steelers try and offload some players that aren’t a part of their long-term plans. This would add draft picks for next year, something this team doesn’t have much of, and free up some cap space. Bush could surprisingly find his name on this list despite his accolades as a top draft pick. With all of that said, here are the pros and cons of trying to trade Bush at the trade 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.
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.
Should Steelers try to trade Devin Bush at deadline: Final verdict
This question is a lot harder to answer on the surface than initially thought. While it would be disappointing to trade Bush, there may not be a better time than now to do so. The former top pick still has some value and team control, meaning teams would be more willing to offer up better draft picks to acquire him. That changes once there is only one year left on his deal.
While trading him more than likely admits the team is out of the playoff hunt this season, that should be mostly expected right now. Sure, a 3-3 record is fine, but the previous two wins aren’t a great indicator that this team will be successful long-term, especially when their schedule gets difficult down the stretch.
That all said, the injury question surrounding Bush makes it hard to be gung-ho on trading him right now. If he is still being limited by that knee, giving him the chance to heal up and reach the heights you hoped he would reach when you traded up for him makes sense. His play hasn’t been abysmal, so giving him some more time to develop is logical.
At this point, unless a team offers you something that really sweeps you off your feet, it probably makes the most sense to keep Bush for now. That said, it shouldn’t stop the Steelers from seeing what they can get in their young linebacker. If a team is willing to offer some valuable draft picks for Bush, it may make sense to move him. I think he sticks around ultimately, but with a rebuild so close, the offer could convince the team to flip Bush.