Player: CB Beanie Bishop Jr.
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: As a consequence of the Steelers signing Cameron Sutton, Beanie Bishop Jr.’s odds of being the nickel back just plummeted. It’s hard to imagine the Steelers would have even bothered signing Sutton if they didn’t see him playing. He has a ton of baggage right now, so the football aspect needs to make up for the rest. Sutton also simply adds another cornerback to the room, and one less spot on the 53-man roster.
The Steelers gave themselves a been-there-done-that guy in the slot by signing Cameron Sutton. In doing so, they have damaged the chances of a young player like Beanie Bishop Jr. to emerge. Damaged, that is, but not ruined. I’m sure the Steelers want to give Bishop a good look, but for now, he is only depth.
One of the reasons Bishop signed with the Steelers is because they had a glaring hole at slot cornerback. Well, they filled that hole a month or so later by signing Sutton, who has done that job in this defense before, and done it well.
But of course the Steelers need more than one cornerback capable of playing in the slot. Sometimes they need more than one simultaneously if they play in a dime defense. Bishop could potentially earn a dime role this season, in other words, but he will really have to earn it.
The Steelers have Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson as their starting outside cornerbacks. Sutton is far and away the favorite to play the third cornerback role in the slot. Beyond them, they have Darius Rush and Cory Trice Jr., which brings the cornerback room up to five.
At safety, they have Minkah Fitzpatrick, DeShon Elliott, Damontae Kazee, and Miles Killebrew. If they decide to carry Trenton Thompson as well, then there may not be a roster spot for Bishop. That’s just the way that the numbers game works on NFL rosters. Mike Hilton lost the numbers game as a rookie.
The numbers certainly look worse today for Beanie Bishop Jr. than they did when he agreed to sign. But we’re still a long way from filling out rosters, so he has plenty of time to prove himself. The best way to do that at this point is on special teams, always sage advice for rookie free agents.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
