Veteran linebacker Devin Bush departs the Cleveland Browns after a renaissance season, signing a three-year deal with NFL team
While most of the Cleveland Browns biggest needs reside on the offensive side of the ball this offseason, one glaring one just emerged on the defense.
According to multiple reports, standout linebacker Devin Bush is leaving Cleveland to sign with the Chicago Bears. The deal is for three years, $30 million, averaging out to around $10 million per year.
Bush emerged as a key figure in the middle of the Browns' dominant defense over the last two seasons, reviving his career that was at one point derailed by the torn ACL.
This past season, in particular, was the best of Bush's career. The 27-year-old racked up 63 combined tackles and two sacks. He also intercepted a season high three passes for a 164 yards, returning two of them for touchdowns.
The Browns initially signed Bush as a free agent in 2024 on a bargain for one-year, $1.5 million. In the aftermath of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah suffering a serious neck injury that abruptly ended his season, and potentially his career, Bush stepped in and quickly shored up the outside linebacker role.
With JOK remaining sidelined this past season, Cleveland was quick to re-sign Bush on another one-year deal, this time worth $1.8 million. His 2025 campaign, however, put him in line for a bigger payday this offseason. He got it from there Bears.
PFF gave Bush an 87.6 overall grade, which ranked fourth among 88 linebackers. His 87.3 run defense grade came in 8th overall among that same group of qualified backers.
His departure now creates a pretty massive void at linebacker for the Browns at that outside linebacker spot next to reigning AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger.
How Cleveland goes about filling that void remains to be seen. Monday kicked off the legal tampering period for teams to start negotiating with free agents, but the new league year doesn't officially start until Wednesday at 4 pm.
The Browns are likely to survey the free agent market to find a potential replacement for Bush, but could also look to the NFL Draft next month.
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