The 2020 season was supposed to be the year Devin Bush started to put things together.
He made splash plays as a rookie in 2019, the kind expected of a player the Steelers traded up to select with the 10th pick in the draft.
But there were times when he looked lost on the field, as well.
In 2020, Bush looked like he might have taken the next step.
His completion percentage in coverage went down from 67.6 percent to 63.6. He allowed five touchdowns in his coverage as a rookie and trimmed that to one.
The problem? His 2020 stats came in 5 1/2 games, as he suffered a torn ACL at the end of the first half of a 38-7 win over the Browns at Heinz Field.
Without Bush -- easily their fastest off-ball linebacker -- the Steelers were vulnerable in the middle of the field.
That was never more apparent than in their 48-37 playoff loss to the Browns.
On third-and-two from the Cleveland 28 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Browns were desperate to keep hold of the ball after the Steelers had trimmed a 28-0 deficit to 35-23 entering the final 15 minutes.
The Browns broke the huddle with three tight ends, a running back and one wide receiver -- Jarvis Landry -- on the field. The Steelers, looking at the big package, kept their base defense on the field.
Before the snap, running back Kareem Hunt went in motion outside of Landry. That left Landry matched on linebacker Robert Spillane, Bush's replacement for most of last season.
Landry sold a quick slant and then broke out to the flat, easily losing Spillane and turning a short catch into a 17-yard gain.
It is for plays like that the Steelers felt the need to acquire Bush, who ran a 40-yard dash in the low 4.4s at the NFL Scouting Combine.
And Bush feels he would have no issue making that play -- or at least forcing the quarterback to go elsewhere. In fact, when asked if he could cover Landry in the slot this offseason, Bush was succinct with his reply.
"Yes, 100 percent," Bush said.
The Steelers will be glad to welcome Bush back into the fold this season. The third-year linebacker has been working hard on the rehab process and got back onto the field during the team's offseason program, though he largely did individual drills.
The Steelers will be keeping a close eye on him when they open training camp later this month at Heinz Field.
The Steelers need Bush to take that next step, one which many league executives think he is capable. In a recent survey of league executives, players and coaches by ESPN, Bush was among others receiving votes in the top-10 linebacker rankings. The comment from an NFC executive was that Bush would have been ranked in the top 10 had he played a full season in 2020.
That's what the Steelers need of him in 2021.
"We think he’s gonna be OK," defensive coordinator Keith Butler said of Bush. "He’s done a good job of rehabbing his knee, but we still have to see how it’s going to hold up. And that will tell us later in the preseason, if we can get a few games out of him in the preseason and see how his knee feels and get a gauge of where he’s at, that will tell us how much we’re going to play Vince (Williams), how much we’re gonna play Robert, how much we gotta play Devin, all of that."
Williams was released in the offseason in a cost-cutting move, but later re-signed. It's expected Spillane will see most of the playing time next to Bush, but Williams will likely have a role, as well. What the Steelers can't afford to happen is for their inside linebackers to be Williams and Spillane together again as happened in 2020.
They can live with one of those guys on the field, but not both together.
The Steelers tried to infuse some speed and coverage ability into the equation with second-year linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III, but he suffered back and ankle injuries that sidelined him for the second season in a row. Then, they traded for the Jets' Avery Williamson, but it was tough for Williamson to pick up the defense on the fly.
They even used converted safety Marcus Allen at times, as well.
But, as they saw against the Browns in that playoff game, it was all a tell. Keep the base defense on the field and opponents could throw against it. Go to a nickel or dime with a light player such as Allen on the field, and opponents could run the ball.
It was the same reason they felt the need to acquire Bush in the first place after playing with Williams and Jon Bostic in 2018.
It's the reason the Steelers also drafted the speedy Gilbert in the sixth-round 2019 and Buddy Johnson in the fourth round this year. They're obviously looking to improve their speed in the middle of the field.
They just need Gilbert to stay healthy and for Johnson, a Texas A&M product, to get up to speed quickly.
"I think the best thing for Buddy to do right now is to make sure that he’s invaluable as a special teams player," Butler said. "These young linebackers come into the league and they don’t understand that a big part of them making the team, especially if they’re a mid-round draft choice or something like that, is how well they do on special teams. So (special teams coordinator) Danny Smith is gonna have a big say in who we keep and who don’t.
"If I’m Buddy, I’m gonna make sure that I’m invaluable as a special teams player, and then I work from there and try to become a starting linebacker in this league. And then if he gets to that, we’ll see what we’ve got when we get to that point."
In the meantime, all eyes will be on Bush and his return.
The NFL will move to a 17-game season in 2021 and the plan is for Bush to be a full-time player as he was prior to his injury. Bush had played every defensive snap before he was injured.
"It's another week of preparation, a lot of stress on your body when you play those games but I'm ready for it," Bush said. "It's definitely something I'm going to have to adjust to, especially coming off the injury.
"But I'm looking forward to playing 100 percent of the snaps."