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Devin Bush continues to have an abysmal season. Everyone, including his dad, is pointing to the fact that he's coming off an ACL injury and is not playing as fast as he normally would. That's understandable, but how long can that be used as an excuse?
The Steelers traded up for Bush in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he's simply not living up to expectations. The Steelers thought they were getting an impact player, similar to what the Cowboys have in Micah Parsons. Parson was drafted at 12th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. For what it's worth, Parsons is having a much better rookie season compared to Bush's in 2019.
Bush has just been bad all around. He's not making any impact plays and is struggling mightily against the run. Bush just can't shed blockers. Watch Bush not be able to get off a block here on Austin Ekeler's 6-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
On the next possession, Bush got beat in coverage by Ekeler for a 10-yard touchdown. According to Pro Football Focus, Bush was given a negative grade on over 40% of his plays against the run in the Chargers game and gave up six receptions in coverage for 67 yards and one touchdown. It was the lowest-graded performance by Bush of his career.
At this point, I think it's pretty much certain that the Steelers won't exercise the fifth-year option on Bush. We've seen players be late bloomers before, such as Bud Dupree. But, I don't know, things are looking really grim for Bush right now. Remember, Bush was the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. A pick that the Steelers traded up for. That point can't be stressed enough.