Steelers reportedly decline LB Devin Bush's 5th-year option
Devin Bush might hit free agency next spring.
The Pittsburgh Steelers declined the fifth-year option on their linebacker’s rookie contract on Monday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Steelers declined to pick up the fifth-year option for Linebacker Devin Bush, per source. He now will be playing on an expiring contract.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 2, 2022
The Steelers traded up 10 spots to select Bush with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2019 draft, a move that initially looked like it paid off. Bush then racked up a career-best 109 tackles, two interceptions and four fumble recoveries in his rookie season.
Five games into the 2020 season, Bush tore his ACL.
He returned last season and recorded 70 total tackles in 14 games, and wasn’t as good as he was before the injury. He missed Pittsburgh's final two games of the regular season after landing on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Bush's play was "spotty at times" last season, head coach Mike Tomlin said in November via the Tribune-Review, and "it hasn't been at the level of consistency that he would like or we would like."
Bush is set to make about $3 million this season, the final in his four-year, $18.8 million deal. He would have earned more than $10.7 million in his option year should the Steelers have picked it up.
He is expected to start again this season, alongside new linebacker Myles Jack.
