The Pittsburgh Steelers added seven rookies via draft selections this year, but added another five as college free agents. They still have four open roster spots as of this writing, so they’re likely to add more, including rookie tryouts.
I believe all of the draft picks stand a good chance of making the 53-man roster again this year. The Steelers managed to keep the entire class a year ago as well, which as far as I know was a franchise first. That included seventh-round CB Cory Trice Jr. on the Reserve/Injured List.
The Steelers had no rookie college free agent make the 53-man roster last year, though they hit big in 2022. That year they unearthed RB Jaylen Warren, who totaled over 1,000 yards from scrimmage last season. But do they have any rookie undrafted candidates this year? Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offered his two most likely candidates on 93.7 The Fan.
“Number one is Beanie Bishop [Jr.] from the backyard in West Virginia. They had him in as a pre-draft visitor,” he told Joe Starkey and Paul Zeise. “He has production, 24 PBUs, four picks last year. He’s fast enough. I think he ran a 4.4, something like that, at his Pro Day.”
The Steelers are actually quite excited about him, going off of general manager Omar Khan’s impression. He said that Bishop will “have a great opportunity to help us this year” at nickel corner and special teams. Many viewed it as a shrewd signing, ranked as the top undrafted cornerback by at least one party. Yet he’s not without his drawbacks.
“He’s only 5-9. He’s 24 years old. He played six years at college, so that’s probably why he didn’t get picked,” Batko noted. “But those slot corners tend to come from the undrafted ranks like a Mike Hilton or Arthur Maulet type of guy.”
While they didn’t originally sign him and he didn’t make a 53 as a rookie, Hilton is another one of the Steelers’ recent notable UDFA successes. Of course, he left in free agency for a better offer with the Cincinnati Bengals. They also parted with Maulet, who asked for his release, replacing him with Chandon Sullivan. Could Bishop, a rookie, step in as the next in line as undrafted slot specialist? And then there’s…
“John Rhys Plumlee, the quarterback from UCF. He’s 5-11, he played wide receiver for one year at Ole Miss because I guess they weren’t feeling his ability to push the ball down the field with his arm,” Batko said of the Steelers’ fourth arm, whom they gave their largest undrafted rookie signing bonus in team history. “Then he got back to quarterback, under center, at Central Florida. The numbers don’t jump off the page, but he also runs a lot.”
The Steelers completely turned over their quarterback room, releasing Mitch Trubisky, trading Kenny Pickett and parting with Mason Rudolph. In steps Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and journeyman Kyle Allen, but can Plumlee challenge for that third spot?
“He’s athletic. I think there’s always interest in a potential Taysom Hill type of guy like that,” Batko said of Plumlee. “If you want to just have him on your roster to see any kind of wrinkles or packages, maybe there’s a little more value in a John Rhys Plumlee type than a Kyle Allen who’s been everywhere and usually a QB3.”
The Steelers have explored sort of gadget options in the past, for example with Joshua Dobbs. But if they’re going to do something with a quarterback, they’re likely to just do it with Fields. Maybe they’re not going to throw him passes, but are you dressing Plumlee just to throw him a pass? Remember, while emergency quarterbacks dress, they can only play in the event of injury.
However, teams may now dress a third emergency quarterback off the practice squad, with unlimited elevations. The Steelers could release Allen and carry Plumlee on the practice squad as their third quarterback. Really, they might manage to keep both quarterbacks on the practice squad.
