Coming into his rookie year, Reggie Bush was supposed to be the second coming of Gale Sayers. Eight years into his career, he’s been average at best. The Green Bay Packers need a running back badly, but Bush isn’t the answer for a long term problem.
Bush began his career with the New Orleans Saints, where we he was known as injury prone. He was a key contributor during the Saints’ Super Bowl championship run in 2009. Bush started fresh with the Miami Dolphins, where he had a break out year in 2011 with 1,086 yards rushing and six touchdowns rushing.
It seemed like Bush had finally turned the corner in his career, but injuries ruined his 2012 season although he did rush for 986 yards and six touchdowns. The Dolphins have publicly said that Bush will walk in free agency due to young running-backs Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas. The Packers are one team to be rumored as suitors for Bush, but it doesn’t make sense.
The Packers have been one of the worst rushing teams since 2010. They got a few good years from Ryan Grant from 2007-09, but let’s face it, the Packers haven’t had a great running back since Ahman Green in the early 2000s. The Packers need a long term answer at running-back. They need a guy who is going to take some pressure off Aaron Rodgers. I believe that running back can only be found in the draft. Bush would only be a great fit in the Packers passing game. He’s a great screen guy, but the Packers need a in between the tackles guy. They need a powerful runner who possesses both speed and power. Bush only has speed at this point.
The Packers could draft the next Doug Martin in April, and that could in turn make the team unstoppable. It’s hard to just find a diamond in the rough at running back, but there are good candidates in this draft. Eddie Lacey from Alabama and Stepfan Taylor from Stanford are two names that should be on the Packers radar.
I’m sure at some point, after free agency starts that Packer fans will be teased by GM Ted Thompson flirting with signing various free agents. Bush will probably be on that list, but it would be a mistake to pay him for something they could find in the draft at a better price.
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