Chris Mueller: Schobert signing a good move, and a message to Bush

Give Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin this much; if indeed 2021 is Ben Roethlisberger’s final season, they’re doing everything they can to try and build the best team possible around him.

First, it was a shiny new toy in the draft in the form of Najee Harris, who established himself as the best running back on the roster five minutes into his first workout. It is here that I am duty-bound to report that I would have drafted a tackle, but the “wow” factor for Harris is plainly evident.

The tweaks and improvements didn’t stop there. Melvin Ingram was brought in to give the Steelers quality depth at outside linebacker, even though that seems like a ridiculous way to characterize a three-time Pro Bowler with 49 career sacks in five-and-a-half seasons as a full-time starter.

Now Joe Schobert is in the fold, with the Steelers sending a sixth-round pick to Jacksonville for a player with a good reputation as a coverage linebacker. Schobert is a major upgrade over Robert Spillane, and the Steelers are a better defense because of his presence.

At the outset, it made sense to look at the move as a simple upgrade; the Steelers were replacing a guy who couldn’t cover tight ends and running backs with one who could. After hearing Schobert’s initial meeting with the media, however, I’m starting to wonder about what this says about Devin Bush.

Schobert made it clear that he’s working as the dime linebacker, and that the plan when the season starts is for him to wear the green dot on his helmet, and relay the defensive calls from the coaches to his teammates. That’s a job that presumably would have belonged to Bush, and is usually the purview of an inside or middle linebacker, someone who functions as the quarterback of the defense.

If the Steelers are both planning on keeping Schobert on the field at all times, and delegating play-call responsibilities to him, what does that say about their feelings towards Bush?

A charitable interpretation of both moves goes something like this; Schobert is a veteran, and while it’s curious that the Jaguars were willing to part with him for a relative pittance, he does have a solid overall track record, and he’s plenty experienced, particularly at picking up new defenses. Giving him those responsibilities will both allow Bush to focus on playing fast as he returns from his knee injury, and lighten his workload – at least for this year – in the process.

That theory is not without merit. Schobert’s contract is structured in such a way that the Steelers can get out of it for virtually nothing after this year. If he’s solid but unspectacular, and Bush makes a big leap playing next to him, they can cut him loose and hand Bush the keys to the defense again. Viewed through that prism it’s a shrewd move that has the potential to pay big dividends on multiple fronts.

A less-charitable interpretation would be that Colbert and Tomlin are concerned that Bush’s recovery is going more slowly than anticipated, and that he needs a lot of help over the middle, and that some of his social media behavior this summer suggests a lack of maturity. If that’s the case, Bush should realize he’s been put on notice.

Teams don’t move up 10 spots to the 10th overall pick in the draft and use it on an inside linebacker unless they think they’re getting their hands on an All-Pro-caliber talent. Bush wasn’t the best inside backer in his draft – that would have been LSU’s Devin White, who went to Tampa Bay with the fifth overall pick – but he was still seen as the kind of player who could make a massive difference in a defense for a decade.

Despite a promising rookie season replete with splash plays, Bush’s career hasn’t been on a fast track since. Bush’s 2020 got derailed by an injury, which isn’t his fault, but fair or not, he’s on the spot this season. The Steelers drafted him with the expectation that he would be the heart and soul of their defense.

Trading for Joe Schobert is a great move, but make no mistake, it’s also a sign that, whatever the reason, things with Devin Bush are so far not going to plan.