Pittsburgh Steelers rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr. suffered a minor nick that kept him out of the last preseason game. He knows that tomorrow’s game is make-or-break time, deciding not just his role, but also potentially his job status. While he is a fan favorite, he still has a lot to prove as head coach Mike Tomlin made clear.
To that end, returning to the field this week, Bishop has clear goals in mind as he aims to lock up a spot on the Steelers’ 53-man roster, and also potentially a starting job. “Make impactful plays, get the ball on the ground. Hopefully create takeaways and show my coverage ability”, he said, via the team’s website.
A rookie college free agent out of West Virginia, Beanie Bishop Jr. did show ball skills last season. Undersized and with mostly a small-school resume, however, every team passed over him in the draft. Now, the Steelers didn’t have a seventh-round pick, so perhaps they would have used one on him. It doesn’t matter now, though, because they got him and are quite happy about it. That doesn’t stop them from pushing him to go out there and prove himself.
“Of course. I feel like I’ve always got something to prove every time I go out there”, Bishop said. “Even if it’s practice … playing with a chip on my shoulder, because a lot of people say I shouldn’t be here. I just go out there and try and prove that I belong here, too”.
After showing quality work during OTAs, Bishop spent most of training camp working with the starters. They wanted to get a better look at Grayland Arnold, but he went down with an injury. The Steelers have suffered serious attrition at the slot cornerback role, but they still like the available options.
Now after Tomlin held him out last week to protect him, Bishop has a shot to lock up the starting slot defender job tomorrow. But he knows what he has to do in order to show that, and that starts with making plays.
“I know I can show more”, he said, via Teresa Varley writing for the Steelers’ website. “I know I still have a lot of plays out there to make. I haven’t taken the ball away. I haven’t scored any defensive touchdowns or anything like that. So, I’m not satisfied yet”.
The Steelers have an opening because Cameron Sutton will serve an eight-game suspension to start the season. Even though they signed him after the draft, they were in contact with him prior to that. I imagine they had a sense that they could sign him if necessary, which may have eased pressures to draft for the position.
Even still, they may not have been expecting an eight-game suspension after his domestic assault arrest. Either way, as a consequence, they need at least a temporary starter. Beanie Bishop Jr. has the chance to be that guy, and beyond that, the chance to take over the job.
