The Cleveland Browns didn’t have the best 2025 season. But, there was one major positive: the defense looked as good as ever. Myles Garrett set the sack record, and rookie linebacker Carson Schweisiger looks to be a superstar in the making.
But the rookie second-rounder isn’t the only linebacker worth noting, as former Pittsburgh Steelers LB Devin Bush also was great for the Browns.
Bush is now set to be a free agent, which gives the Browns a tricky decision. Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN reveals that Bush is in line for a huge pay raise from his $3.25 million salary last year, making it difficult for the Browns to keep him.
Browns’ Devin Bush in line for major pay raise
“Bush is the only unrestricted free agent from a defense that finished the season as one of the NFL’s best, and keeping him would help retain that continuity,” Oyefusi writes. “But he’s due for a sizable pay raise after playing on a $3.25 million salary in 2025.”
The 27-year-old linebacker, who spent the first four years of his career with the Steelers before a one-year stop with the Seattle Seahawks, might’ve found a home in Cleveland.
Bush played in all 17 games for the Browns, recording 125 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, three interceptions (two of which were pick-sixes), eight passes defended, and 9.5 stuffs in a breakout season.
He had already shown some potential during his time with the Steelers, but this season in Cleveland was the breakout he had been looking for.
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Every statistic was a career-high or tied a career-high for Bush. He is more than living up to the first-round pedigree from being picked 10th overall in 2019.
Bush’s breakout 2025 season will help him land a significant raise from his 2025 salary, and the Browns might find it tough to retain him due to that raise.
But if they can find a way to keep him in Cleveland for the foreseeable future, playing him next to Schwesinger, then Andrew Berry and the Browns should do so.
They have the money, and should try their best to re-sign Bush, even if it’s going to cost a ton before the breakout linebacker hits the open market.
