With the Steelers struggling to get quality reps out of their inside linebacker group, the team may need to add another body there with one of these three free agents.
It is no secret that the Steelers have been struggling to get quality play out of their inside linebacker group this season. Joe Schobert has been a steady contributor, but Devin Bush has been extremely off. His athleticism still seems to be affected by his previous injury but his decision-making has been putrid.
Poor angles, mediocre tackling, and slow decision-making have made Bush not just a bad player on the field, but a liability on this defense. It has been a significant fall from grace for the former top-ten pick, and something has to change this season. He can’t continue to play most of the defensive snaps with how poor he is playing.
Steelers could look inhouse
To be clear, signing a free agent off the street does little help right away. Unless those players have been on a practice squad, they will need a week or two to get adjusted to life in the NFL again. Even then, a free agent this late is a desperate move for any team. That said, something has to give due to the poor run defense that this defense has fielded.
Robert Spillane plays fine downhill, but he has a lot of limitations in his overall game. The rest of the depth chart is either a special team’s player or has been inactive for most weeks. Getting a veteran with some starting experience makes sense then. Those that are still playing on special teams can stay there while this provides a spark for Bush to either play better or get benched. With all that said, here are the three free-agent inside linebackers the Steelers could sign to push Bush.