Pittsburgh Steelers CB Thomas Graham Jr. benefited from a Mike Tomlin decision, holding Beanie Bishop Jr. out of Saturday’s game. Tomlin said afterward that the rookie is dealing with a minor nick, and he wanted to preserve him. Listed as the first-string nickel on the depth chart, he hopes Bishop can seal a roster spot next week.
But in the meanwhile, the decision helped provide a similar opportunity for Graham, fourth-year veteran. He started the game, and on the whole held his own. He made two tackles and delivered one impressive pass defensed to boot.
“I think I did good”, Graham told Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I left two plays on the field in my head that I can straight-up remember. But aside from that I felt like I had a productive day and made the plays when they came to me. I’ve just got to make more”.
Selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Thomas Graham Jr. has 11 games under his belt. As a rookie, he played 112 defensive snaps in four games, including one start, with four passes defensed. A year later, he played in seven games, but served mainly on special teams, logging only 37 defensive snaps. He spent his second season in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns. Still in Cleveland last year, he suffered a training camp injury and missed the season.
The Steelers signed Graham after the 2023 season in January, and he has been with them since. By and large, most have overlooked him, but he had a steady training camp. Two favorites for the slot corner job opening training camp, Josiah Scott and Grayland Arnold, are now gone. Beanie Bishop Jr. is really his only competition at this point. But he has had to wait his turn to show what he can do.
“For me it was just kind of getting another chance to get out there, for real”, Graham told Adamski. “I don’t take anything for granted. I was just grateful to be on the field, grateful to do what I needed to do in camp for them to have interest in me for that position, and just went out there to go out there and ball”.
The Steelers have not had a stable presence in the slot since allowing Mike Hilton to leave in free agency. For two years, they primarily relied on Arthur Maulet, turning last season to Chandon Sullivan. This year, they brought back Cameron Sutton for that purpose, but he has an eight-game suspension to serve.
Right now, Beanie Bishop Jr. remains the favorite to open the season as a starter in the nickel. If he misses practice time due to injury, however, Thomas Graham Jr. could sneak in there. He will have to earn his keep on special teams, but he is confident his tape shows that. Adamski said Graham told him he was disappointed the Steelers didn’t punt in the second half. He was slated to serve as a gunner in the second half as he attempts to secure a roster spot. In the meantime, that pass defensed won’t hurt his case.
