Over the course of the last three weeks, there’s been a significant change in personnel on the defensive side of the football. We’ve seen a significant dip in reps for rookie linebacker Devin Bush.
Over the first eight games of the season, Bush averaged 91.2 percent of the total defensive snaps. This includes three games where Bush played every defensive snap in the game.
But over the last three games, Bush has only averaged 61.3 percent of the total defensive snaps. For a player who isn’t injured this is a massive drop. Bush also went from averaging 8.25 tackles per game in the first eight games to only 4.3 tackles per game in the last three.
Why the change? This could be a calculated move by the Steelers coaching staff to save Bush for the final few games of the season. Even the best-conditioned rookies can hit a wall with a heavy workload so the Steelers might be trying to keep him fresh for those last big games including showdowns with the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens.
Let’s hope when the Steelers need Bush he’s ready. Pittsburgh spent a ton to go up and get Bush in last year’s draft. Having him on the sidelines while Mark Barron runs around out there isn’t comforting.
