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Reggie Bush is entering his tenth season in the NFL. A free agency addition to his new team, Bush has promised production and value all offseason long. In his first season with the San Francisco 49ers, the expectations of him will be set high.
The focus of Bush during training camp, and seemingly the focus of management as well, will be using Bush’s skills to introduce some versatility to the struggling offense we saw last season.
Such skills include the screen pass, a play that the 49ers have long needed to reintroduce. A 49ers team previously led underneath Jim Harbaugh did not attempt to make this an element of their offense, though the benefits of changing up the offense could have been extremely lucrative.
Bush is no stranger to making catching plays. An impressive 3,500 of his 8,954 yards from scrimmage have come through the air.
In his time with the 49ers, Bush has been vocal about his desire to be a backup plan and a bailout guy for his new quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. Bush should be working vigilantly during training camp to gain the trust of Kaepernick and training and coaching staff should put an emphasis on the chemistry between these two.
Kaepernick has been starting since the late half of the 2012 season, but screen passing in his NFL career is not something he’s done much of. Bush and Kaepernick must develop a rhythm in training camp that can carry over on to the field when the season begins in September if they want to introduce some new plays.
Practice makes perfect, and it’s extremely important that Bush does a lot of it. Earning trust and respect while being able to be used in the way that you want during your first year on a new team is no easy feat. However, don’t count this veteran out. Following a productive offseason, Bush could have his career best year with the 49ers.
Kelsey Kay is a San Francisco 49ers analyst for Rant Sports. Follow her on Twitter @kelseyykayyy, “Like” her on Facebook or add her to your network on Google.
