With veteran cornerback Cameron Sutton suspended the first eight games of the season following his offseason arrest in Florida, it appears that, at least after the first day of practice for the Pittsburgh Steelers in training camp, rookie undrafted free agent cornerback Beanie Bishop has a leg up in the competition in the slot.
Bishop, according to an observation from The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo, “got most of the work in the nickel with the first team” defense on Thursday at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
That’s ahead of veteran slot cornerback Josiah Scott, who brings three years and 39 career games of experience to the nickel.
The West Virginia product has been hyped up all offseason as a potential answer in the slot for the Steelers, especially after cutting Patrick Peterson and letting Levi Wallace walk in free agency.
Pittsburgh attempted to plug the hole in the slot with Sutton, but his suspension threw things for a loop, which puts the onus on a guy like Bishop to step up.
Opportunities will be there to prove himself, much like there were on Thursday, as he saw most of the first-team work in the slot ahead of Scott, though he shared time with safety DeShon Elliott in the slot in a curious move.
Though he’s a bit undersized, his ball skills are impressive, as is his physicality, which is what the Steelers look for in the slot.
Bishop measured in at 5091 and 182 pounds at the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl in Dallas, and despite the smaller size, Bishop had a dominant 2023 season. He recorded 20 pass breakups as he was constantly around the football and really emerged as a leader in the Mountaineers’ secondary.
Now, he’s looking to carve out a role in Pittsburgh at the slot cornerback position, following the path of other previous UDFA slot corners for the Steelers, like Mike Hilton and Arthur Maulet. The path is there; it’s been laid before him.
He has to seize upon it now as he did on Thursday with the first-team reps.
