4 reasons Steelers LB Devin Bush will be better in 2022

While Devin Bush was once a highly touted player for the Steelers, many wonder if he will ever be the same after a disappointing season in his first year back from a torn ACL.

When the Steelers traded up in the 2019 NFL Draft to select Devin Bush, sky-high expectations were set for the Michigan linebacker. The Steelers gave up their second-round selection that year, and a third-rounder in 2020, in addition to the pick swap to go up and get Bush at 10th overall. The team hoped an athletic linebacker like Bush would make an impact like the impact Ryan Shazier made on the team prior to his tragic injury.

After a promising rookie season, Bush tore his ACL in Week 5 of the 2020 season and didn’t play the rest of the year. When he returned last season, expectations were that he would return to form, however, he looked like a shell of his former self, and was one of the team’s most disappointing players.

While he was not the player the team envisioned last season, there are several reasons that Bush can’t play any worse than he played last year, and could improve vastly this season.

4. The addition of Brian Flores to the coaching staff

One of the biggest surprises of the offseason was when the Miami Dolphins fired Head Coach, Brian Flores. Flores was one of the league’s most respected defensive assistants for years in New England, and he only strengthened his resume when he turned the Miami Dolphins into a respectable contender. However, after he and Chris Grier butted heads, he was let go.

He figured to be one of the top head-coaching candidates until he opened a lawsuit against the NFL. That left him available for a lesser position, and the Steelers pounced, hiring him as a defensive assistant, and linebackers coach.

The presence of Flores could pay dividends for a defense loaded with talent, and the player who could benefit more than any other is Devin Bush. With Flores’ position on the staff being the linebackers coach, he figures to spend a lot of time with Bush and will do everything he can to get Bush back to the form he displayed in college and his rookie season.

If anyone can get the most out of Bush, it is Brian Flores, who is not only a defensive guru but is also a terrific motivator that dug his team out of a 1-7 hole this season and finished the season with a 9-8 record.