With Grayland Arnold injured, Beanie Bishop Jr. was poised to step back as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ slot corner in Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. Instead, Bishop will miss the game, too. Due to an unknown injury/reason, Bishop didn’t dress for the team’s second preseason game, according to The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo.
Bishop finished training camp healthy and there was no indication of an injury during the Thursday joint practice against the Buffalo Bills. It’s a crucial missed opportunity for Bishop, who could’ve cemented the starting role with a strong showing Saturday night.
Undrafted out of West Virginia, he was regarded as the team’s top UDFA. He ran first-team slot corner throughout most of training camp, though he took a backseat to Arnold the final three practices. But Arnold suffered a calf injury blocking on a kick return during the 16th and last practice at Saint Vincent and was placed on injured reserve the following day.
With Beanie Bishop and Grayland Arnold out, Thomas Graham Jr. figures to see most of the snaps at the nickel spot. Pittsburgh could also utilize SS DeShon Elliott in the slot, something they did early in camp and in Big Nickel packages against 12 personnel throughout the summer. Graham was dubbed our camp darling for his strong summer showing, picking off two passes and tipping a pass that led to a third. He earned praise from DC Teryl Austin and ran second-team slot corner in the preseason opener against the Houston Texans.
“You see him around the football,” Austin said via a Steelers-provided transcript a week ago. “All of a sudden there will be a nice interception and it’s T.G. There will be a nice play, a guy tackled for loss, showing up as a blitzer. And so he’s shown some versatility, and he’s shown the ability to get around the ball.
If Bishop’s injury is serious enough to even threaten him playing in next week’s preseason finale, the team could consider scouring the waiver wire and free agent pool after cutdowns to add a veteran and boost the group. The same could be said at outside corner behind Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson where youth and inexperience could give the Steelers pause.
