Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images Devin Bush #55 and Cameron Heyward #97 of the Pittsburgh Steelers after Bush recovered a fumble against the San Francisco 49ers on September 22, 2019.
When Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker Devin Bush Jr. went on a multi-day long Twitter rant on and around the July 4th holiday weekend, it was veteran defensive end Cameron Heyward who urged Bush to, uh, take a break from social media:
@_Dbush11 Calm your ass down
So it was hardly a surprise on Friday when Heyward characterized himself as the team’s “bad cop,” telling assembled media that “Tyson [Alualu] is the good cop to my bad cop. I think he balances our locker room,” added Heyward, referring to his linemate, who agreed to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency but later reversed that decision after a positive COVID-19 test gave him additional time to reflect.
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Of course, serving as the Steelers’ “good cop” isn’t the only reason Heyward appreciates Alualu.
“… There aren’t a lot of [nose tackles] that do what he does. He is able to be our nose [tackle] and then he is able to be a depth rotational guy at end. It’s a unique combination and I just think he has thrived here,” perhaps stating the obvious, as both are on Pro Football Focus’ list of the 32 best defensive linemen in the NFL, core parts of PFF’s No. 1 defensive line unit in the league.
Cam Heyward: Devin Bush Likes to ‘Play Young’
Having labeled himself as the locker room’s “bad cop,” Heyward was asked about Devin Bush’s activity on Twitter, and intimated that it won’t be any problem keeping the 23-year-old ’backer in line.
“Devin’s a grown-up, he just likes to play young,” began Heyward. “I don’t have to say a lot. I think everybody is expecting something different but Devin is a heck of a football player. He can be a kid at times, but we’ll reel him back in when we have to.”
To be sure, Bush has been much less active—and much less provocative—on Twitter since he indicated that his tweets got him “in trouble” with … well, he didn’t say whom.
But he still posts about completely random topics from time to time. For example …
The belief is that humans swallow an average of 8 spiders in our sleep annually.
That’s a tweet that prompted one follower to ask if National Geographic had taken over his account.
Another simply replied:
But at his Twitter low point, Bush tweeted some truly disturbing material, prompting Steelers fan to question his mental health and whether his account had been hacked.
Devin Bush: ‘I Got Mind Control Over Cam’
As for whether Cameron Heyward can effectively police Bush over the extended term, that remains to be seen.
Bush has hinted that he cannot:
I got mind control over Cam. He tell me to “Calm my ass down” I be calm, but when he log off…. I be talking again.
It also remains to be seen whether there will be any future friction with the likes of wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool, two teammates who may not easily forget how Bush advised TikTok enthusiasts ‘Stay TF Away From Me.’
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