With Cameron Sutton eligible to return after one more game, the Pittsburgh Steelers CB Beanie Bishop Jr. isn’t changing anything about his approach. After starting the first seven games as the slot defender, he doesn’t know what the future holds. He knows Sutton could come in and take his place. But he is just doing what he has all along, and Sutton has been at his service.
“No, not at all”, Bishop said, via the Steelers’ website, when asked about changing his approach with Sutton returning. Suspended for the first eight games of the season, Sutton has been back in the building for the past two weeks. During this time, he is able to do everything with the team but practice and play.
“Cam [Sutton], he’s been helping me learn whatever, see the stuff that he’s seeing”, Bishop said. “Kind of try to take a veteran approach to it. He’s just telling me things that he knows that obviously I probably won’t because he’s been in the league for six, seven years. Just to be able to try to help me slow the game down. Ultimately, we win as a team. He’s just been trying to help me”.
The Steelers turned over their cornerback room since last season, releasing Patrick Peterson and moving on from Levi Wallace and Chandon Sullivan. They made no significant moves in free agency until eventually signing Cameron Sutton. While they did not draft a cornerback, they signed Bishop as a priority rookie free agent.
Once training camp opened, the Steelers took the training wheels off Bishop. They allowed him to work most of camp as the starter, and on the whole, he showed it wasn’t too big for him. He struggled during the first five weeks of the regular season before rebounding recently. Even with a two-interception game, though, he cannot make up for the experience of Sutton.
The Steelers selected Cameron Sutton in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He graduated from dime to nickel to starting outside cornerback over six years in Pittsburgh. In 2023, he signed a lucrative contract with the Detroit Lions, but his domestic violence charge led to his release. Many questioned the Steelers’ decision to re-sign him, and frankly hoped Bishop would take the job.
The Steelers didn’t know when they signed Sutton that he would serve an eight-game suspension, though they knew of a suspension. Had they known he would miss half the season, they may have invested in more than just Bishop.
But now they are just one game away from getting Sutton back, and arguably, they have two options. Bishop went through considerable growing pains, but he is better off for it. And after this next week, the Steelers will have Sutton available for whatever role they choose for him.
