CLEVELAND, Ohio — More details have emerged from the arrest of Browns linebacker Devin Bush Jr. on Sunday and charges involving a domestic incident.
Bush, 26, was arrested just outside of Pittsburgh, in Bell Acres Borough, and charged with simple assault and harassment, according to court records.
The arrest followed an alleged domestic dispute at Bush’s home, according to court documents obtained by cleveland.com.
Bush’s girlfriend told police that the two got into an altercation Sunday morning at his home.
According to the report, Bush’s girlfriend told police that he assaulted her and took her car keys. She said they got into an argument that morning over Bush’s friend, and it turned into one about Bush making a mess in the kitchen.
Bush’s girlfriend told police she started to video record the argument on her cell phone as Bush became more aggressive. She said Bush chased her though the house to get the phone, and that he got ahold of her in the office near the front of the house.
She told police she clutched the phone to her chest while he pinned her against a massage table, putting his full body weight on top of her.
The struggle for the phone went on for an extended period of time, and then he smashed it, she told police.
She told police she he was also looking for her iPad so she couldn’t contact anyone, and she was able to escape to a neighbor’s with her daughter.
The officer observed an abrasion on the inside of her right wrist, and on her right foot, according to the records.
She told police the marks resulted from the struggle for the phone.
Bush told police, according to the report, that he didn’t get physical with his girlfriend, but did smash her cell phone.
A Browns spokesman told cleveland.com that the team is aware of the incident and gathering more information.
Bush was released on non-monetary bail Sunday night, and a hearing is scheduled for May 20.
The simple assault charge is a second-degree misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The harassment charge is a summary offense.
In addition to possible sanctions from the Browns, the NFL could also punish Bush under its personal conduct policy.
The Browns originally signed Bush, a former first-round pick of the Steelers, as a free agent in March of 2024, and re-signed him March 11 to a one-year deal worth $3.25 million, including $2.97 million guaranteed.
Bush, who stepped into a starting role after Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah suffered a scary neck injury, started 10 games for the Browns and finished fourth on the team with 74 tackles. He also notched a sack and defended three passes.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bush earned an 86.4 run defense grade, eighth among qualifying NFL linebackers. He also finished No. 8 overall with a 79.2 grade, a notch behind Owusu-Koramoah (80.6), a Pro Bowler. Bush was also tied for ninth in fewest-missed tackles percentage at 7.5.
The Browns drafted linebacker Carson Schwesinger of UCLA to likely start on the inside this season while Owusu-Koramoah continues his recovery.
Bush, the No. 10 overall draft pick by the Steelers in 2018 out of Michigan, had several connections with the Browns even before he signed here last year.
For starters, his father, Devin Bush Sr., played safety for the Browns in 2001-02 to cap an eight-year NFL career. Then in 2020, the younger Bush suffered a torn ACL in Week 6 against Cleveland, and it proved to be an enormous setback.
He returned in 2021 to start 14 games for the Steelers, recording two sacks, 70 tackles and defended four passes. But the Steelers declined his fifth-year option in May of 2022, and he became a free agent after the season. That year, he started 14 of his 17 games, notching 81 tackles and defending two passes.
Bush signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks in 2023 worth $3.5 million instead of the blockbuster extension a No. 10 overall pick usually earns. Then he started only three of his 13 games, playing primarily on special teams and as a backup linebacker.
The Browns got Bush at the bargain-basement price of $1.5 million last season, hoping he’d contribute in a big way on special teams and work his way into the linebacker rotation.
In four of his last five games, he earned PFF starting-caliber grades of 75.5 or higher.
Bush (5-11, 234) was also the second former first-round defender the Browns signed this offseason. The first, edge-rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, is a former first-round pick of the Buccaneers.
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