As it seems, it takes a village to not only raise a child, but to replace an inside linebacker, as well.
Devin Bush had played every single defensive snap for the Steelers this season prior to suffering a torn ACL late in the first half of the Steelers' 38-7 win over the Browns last Sunday. And while Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Robert Spillane, his in-game replacement, will be the man who sees the majority of the snaps when the Steelers (5-0) travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans (5-0) this Sunday, the third-year pro out of Western Michigan won't be the only player the team uses in place of Bush.
"We’ve got a great deal of confidence in Robert. We’ll continue to largely go with him in replacement of Devin," Tomlin said. "We will, in game-planning, look at all of our options in terms of dividing the labor up. But Robert will be the primary man responsible for replacing Devin. We’re excited about watching him play, and play to the standards of our expectations."
Bush will have surgery to repair his torn ACL on Wednesday and will be lost for the season. That means the Steelers have to find a way to replicate Bush's talents through a combination of using Spillane, converted safety Marcus Allen, second-year linebacker Ulysees Gilbert and perhaps even safety Terrell Edmunds at times, depending on the package.
It's not something new for the team. Prior to moving up 10 spots in the 2019 NFL Draft to select the speedy Bush, the Steelers trotted out Sean Spence, L.J. Fort, Morgan Burnett, Jon Bostic and Mark Barron at the position after losing every-down linebacker Ryan Shazier to a career-ending back injury near the end of the 2017 season. Often times, they would mix and match who was on the field, with Spence playing on running downs and Fort on passing downs, for example.
That's what made Bush so valuable. He never had to leave the field, as he was equally adept at stopping the run and playing the pass.
Now, the Steelers will have to get creative, unless one of their current options somehow shows himself capable of being an every-down player.
"We have a lot of confidence in all of these guys," Tomlin said. "We still have some heavy game-planning to do."
Gilbert, a sixth-round draft pick out of Akron in 2019, is the player who most resembles Bush in terms of his athleticism. He ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at his on-campus workout, which is in the neighborhood of the 4.43-seconds Bush posted at the NFL Scouting Combine. But Gilbert missed more than half of the 2019 season with a back injury and has been active for just two games this season, losing out to Spillane and Allen because the latter two are better special teams players.
Another consideration the Steelers will have is what player will have the in-helmet speaker on the field to communicate play calls with the sideline. Bush had taken over those duties this season from Barron, who handled it for most of 2019. Outside linebacker T.J. Watt also had the speaker in his helmet at times, while fellow inside linebacker Vince Williams has done it in the past.
Teams are only permitted to have one player with the speaker -- designated with a green dot on the back of their helmet -- on the field at a time.
"We’ll hammer out some of those details, like who is carrying the green dot, what the division of labor (will be)," Tomlin said. "I doubt Robert Spillane will be playing all of the defensive snaps, and so it will probably require a combination of people to replace Devin Bush. That’s not unusual under the circumstances. But all of that remains to be hashed out. There will be no excuses about those who occupy the role."
On a positive note, the Steelers might not need to get all too creative this week against the Titans, who are a run-heavy team that typically only goes to three-receiver sets on third downs. That might mean the Steelers can play a lot more of their base 3-4 defense.
"They play old school-style football," Tomlin said. "I don’t know how much sub-package football we’ll be playing on non-possession downs. That remains to be seen."
As for looking outside the organization for help, the Steelers haven't thought that far ahead. At least Tomlin hasn't. Kevin Colbert has likely already updated his list of available free agents and potential trade partners, even if the Steelers don't go that route.
"I can’t see past lunch," Tomlin said. "We’re just focused on doing what we need to do in this game. There could be things that occur in this game that change what potential plans we might have, anyway. That happens every time you step into a stadium."
• Tomlin said David DeCastro (abdomen) and Diontae Johnson (back) are both expected to practice Wednesday after sitting out the game against the Browns. Mike Hilton (shoulder) and Derek Watt (hamstring) will be questionable to play.
• Offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski, who remains on injured reserve with a pectoral injury, will begin his second week of practice work Wednesday. The Steelers have 21 days from when Wisniewski began practicing last week to activate him or place him on season-ending injured reserve.