Steelers All 90: WR Rico Bussey
All 90 is a Pittsburgh Steelers Now series profiling each of the 90 members of the Steelers 2021 offseason roster.
84 • Rico Bussey, rookie wide receiver
6-foot, 190 pounds
Acquired: Signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent out of Hawaii on May 1.
College: Transferred to Hawaii in 2020 and started all eight games for the Rainbow Warriors, catching 31 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown.
Bussey started his college career at North Texas, where he was eighth in the nation with 12 touchdown catches in 2018, but suffered a torn ACL and missed most of the 2019 season.
He finished his college career with 2,215 yards and 22 touchdowns in 38 games, establishing himself as a significant red zone threat. For comparison, Chase Claypool had 19 touchdowns in 45 games at Notre Dame.
Camp outlook: With each of the Steelers top five receivers from 2020 returning, everyone else is battling for a practice squad spot, and two players that were on the 2020 squad — Anthony Johnson and Cody White — are back, as well.
Bussey doesn’t possess elite speed, but his ability to be a red zone threat and a bigger receiver that can operate in multiple positions, coming from Hawaii’s four-receiver base set, can be positives. Still, unseating incumbents is never easy and Bussey should probably be considered an underdog to keep a job this fall.
Future: Bussey’s rookie contract runs through 2023, at which point, he’ll become a restricted free agent.
The rest of the 90:
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