Browns ‘Comfortable’ Giving $30 Million Contract to Steelers’ Biggest NFL Draft Bust

Once upon a time, there were big things expected in the NFC North for Browns linebacker Devin Bush. He was the No. 10 pick in the 2019 draft by the Steelers out of Michigan, and started 15 games as a rookie, making 109 tackles. But he tore his ACL in Year 2, and never really recovered from there–when he hit free agency in 2023, the Steelers had no interest in bringing him back and he got just a $3.5 million one-year deal with the Seahawks.

In Pittsburgh, the Steelers’ USA Today site had a headline that winter, “LB Devin Bush is easily the biggest Steelers NFL draft bust.” Sports Illustrated named Bush among the, “Biggest Draft Busts of the Past 10 Years,” in April 2023. Safe to say, he was a disappointment.

Browns Got a Bargain in Devin Bush

But Bush has had a resurgence in Cleveland. He signed a minimum deal with the Browns in 2024, and played well enough to warrant a return contract for this season. And he’s made the most of the chance, making 75 tackles in 11 starts, and establishing a career high with five passes defended and four quarterback hits.

A bust no more, Bush is ranked the No. 6 linebacker (out of 83) in the Pro Football Focus grades system, earning a mark of 84.9 for the Browns this year. That means he is due a significant raise, and though the Browns have already given new deals to Myles Garrett and Alex Wright, Bush should be on their list, too.

Devin Bush Having a Breakout Year

Examining the players who will be the top free agents next winter, NFL contract guru Mike Ginnitti of Spotrac says Bush will be one of the top linebackers on the market.

“Devin Bush in Cleveland, who did not show signs of this kind of breakout despite where he was drafted. But he is now way out-kicking his coverage. …” Ginnitti said on “The Spotrac Podcast.”

“You could see and hear coming from Cleveland that this was a player who was developing and that they could use.”

Browns ‘Comfortable With’ $30 Million Contract

Bush won’t break the bank, Ginnitti says. Linebackers these days just aren’t top-dollar players. But the Browns need to keep him in place, and the Spotrac model has him getting three years and $27 million–though that may be a bit low.

“They doubled his salary in 2025 to about $3.5 million. Now he is full-time. Now he is going to be career highs in pretty much everything. And now he has established himself for a good Cleveland defense, a defense that even the best teams in football do not want to match up with in 2025,” Ginnitti said.

“He started at the bottom the past three seasons and has risen himself to be a formidable off-ball linebacker. He is not gonna be in the $15 million per year conversation despite his draft pedigree. But half that is about right–$8 or $9 or $10 million per year. You want to put him on a three for $30 (million)? I think team and player are comfortable with that.”

Packers’ Jordan Love ‘Not Gonna Sugarcoat’ Continued Shoulder Injury

For the Packers, Week 12’s win over the Vikings was a convincing one, a 23-6 victory in which the Green Bay defense and run game appeared to give quarterback Jordan Love an afternoon off. And a good thing, because Love had suffered a separated shoulder–on his non-throwing side–the previous week against the Giants.

Ah, but perhaps there is more to it than that. Packers observers and online sleuths wondered, during last week’s game, whether there was more to the team’s newfound devotion to running and defense. Perhaps, the thinking went, the reduction in Packers passing was not the result of a happy accident, but rather part of a game plan in which the team was attempting to protect Love’s shoulder.

Packers Have Some Jordan Love Concerns

Worse yet, perhaps it was something the Packers were more worried about going into the key Week 13 Thanksgiving battle against the Lions, one that will have implications for the NFC North title, than they were letting on.

Love was just 14-for-21 passing on Sunday, the fewest attempts he has had here in 2025. After Packers practice on Tuesday, Love was asked extensively about his shoulder, to a point that he clearly wanted to change the subject.

“It’s one of those things where I am able to play through it. Obviously, any time take a hit or fall on it, you feel it but nothing that is holding me back or nothing I can’t play through,” Love said.

Other QBs Struggled With AC Injury

It was pointed out to Love that other top quarterbacks–Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz were named–have dealt with AC joint injuries to their non-throwing shoulders and have had to sit out because of them. Love pointed out the obvious: Injuries can be more or less severe each time they happen.

“It is an injury. I am not gonna sugarcoat it,” Love said. “But with those guys I am not sure what exactly their injuries are, I think every injury is a little bit different and how guys feel from it. So, it is something that, we have done the test, and kind of looked at it and examined it in the game. But it’s something we felt I could play through and go out there and continue to play through. So I did.”

Packers Trying to Protect Jordan Love Shoulder

It has not been Love’s finest stretch. Week 12 saw him put up 139 yards in passing for the Packers, a week after going for 174 yards against the Giants. Before that, it was only 176 yards against the Eagles on a national Monday night game.

Love said he is trying some tricks and methods he can use to protect the shoulder. But the injury is not going away in the near future.

“There are things you are able to do, and we’ll continue to do them,” Love said. “But I am not going to continue to get into detail and talk through it, but there are things we have done to help out and be able to play and hopefully help myself put the best foot forward. But at the end of the day, playing through things, there’s always chance of risking more injuries.”

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