4 Cleveland Browns who need to stand out in Preseason Week 1

LB Devin Bush

During Andrew Berry's tenure as general manager in Cleveland, we've seen a lot of free-agent players get signed to one-year deals. The belief is to get a motivated player for cheap, and if things don't work out the team can move on without worry about money against their cap spending. Linebacker Devin Bush was inked to a one-year deal back in March with the thought he could resurrect his career in Cleveland

Bush was a first-round pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2020 NFL Draft. He had a strong start in his rookie campaign, but ultimately suffered a season-ending ACL injury. This ended up affecting the way he played the game, as he was never able to undercut blocks and beat players to the ball the way he was once able to.

What never changed though was Bush's ability to tackle.

Per Pro Football Focus, since 2021 Bush has had a missed tackle rate of 5.6% and below. For perspective one of the best linebackers in the entire NFL, Bobby Wagner had a missed tackle rate of 4.8% last year. Going into camp, it seemed like Bush would have a battle for a starting role, as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Jordan Hicks already have two of the three starting linebackers spots locked in.

Originally to start camp 2021 draft pick Tony Fields was getting the first-team reps but suffered a leg injury a week ago and hasn't been back to practice since. If Bush has a great preseason game, that third linebacker spot could be his for the taking.