Free Agent Profile: Safety Deon Bush

With Will Parks heading into free agency, the Denver Broncos will have some issues to resolve on both special teams and on defense as Parks played heavily last season. He played 50% of the snaps on defense last season, so they’ll need to find someone to fill that role in 2020.

If they are looking for someone who might be under the radar and cost a little less, they might look towards Chicago Bears safety Deon Bush. He played just 5% of the defense snaps in 2019, but he fills the role of a box safety rather well. He could grow with more experience.

What kind of contract could he get

Bush isn’t a guy that will be seen as a true starter, so that will push his price tag down significantly. Looking around, I saw a few sites suggest a $2-3 million a year price tag for Bush’s services.

Why the Broncos should sign him

Parks had a significantly important role on defense last season, so if they plan is not to bring him back the Broncos will need to find a guy who can come in and perform that role. He’s also seen as an excellent special teamer who had an 81.9 PFF grade last year. According to the Bear Report, he’s also been good in coverage when called upon.

Over the last two seasons (2018 and 2019), Bush has allowed just a 54.8 completion percentage when targeted. He’s an underrated player in coverage who thrives in zone more than anything else.

Why the Broncos shouldn’t sign him

He’s not a starter, so the case could be made that Denver should focus on bringing along their own homegrown talent at a much cheaper rate than $3 million a year. Also, if you are bringing Bush in you are doing it more for special teams than for the defense.

Final word

If Parks is gone and Denver doesn’t pursue, then I like the idea of trying to pick up a guy like Deon Bush to help bolster the special teams unit and add some solid depth at the safety position behind Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson. The cost is reasonable in my opinion.

What do you think Broncos Country?