Going into this season, one of the biggest question marks the Pittsburgh Steelers had was at slot corner. They signed Cam Sutton to eventually take over the role once his eight-game suspension is served, but until then, undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. has had the job. He wasn’t awful over the first few weeks, although his inexperience did show. However, during the Steelers’ latest game in Week 5, he got absolutely put through the ringer. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin seems to believe Bishop is better than how he played against the Dallas Cowboys.
“When you’re talking about Beanie [Bishop Jr.], I think what he ran into is what happens to emotional guys,” Austin said Thursday via the team’s transcripts. “There’s going to be a game where you’re tested, and it doesn’t go your way. I don’t think that’s going to be a recurring theme, but a lot of that’s going to fall on Beanie and how he reacts to the things that happened to him last week. But I think he’s handled himself well.”
That echoes the sentiment Mike Tomlin had about Bishop directly after the game. It seems the coaching staff still has faith in him and understands that he’ll have to go through growing pains. If he was good enough to immediately come in and be an All-Pro, he wouldn’t have gone undrafted.
Austin continued talking about Bishop and where he feels the young player is at in his development.
“There’s probably a game where everybody would look at and go, ‘Boy, I didn’t play very well that game. I didn’t do what I wanted to in that game,’ and then get back to the drawing board. I think that’s where we are with Beanie. He’s a young guy that got tested, and I think he’ll bounce back this week.”
Bishop’s inexperience certainly did show against the Cowboys. He got beat on multiple big plays, and also committed a few costly penalties. It felt like the Cowboys were attempting to target him as often as they could. The loss wasn’t entirely his fault because other players also allowed big plays, but it’s a game he likely wants to forget.
This week, the Steelers play the Las Vegas Raiders, and Bishop does have a chance to bounce back. The Raiders’ offense isn’t as good as the Cowboys’, and they’re dealing with a laundry list of injuries as well. Bishop will likely match up against Tre Tucker, a young second-year receiver with a ton of speed.
Tucker hasn’t had a ton of production in his short career, but he is a big-play threat. He’s got legit speed, and Bishop will need to stay on his toes against the former third-round draft pick. The Steelers struggled with explosive plays against the Cowboys, and Tucker could threaten them in that regard again.
At the very worst for the Steelers, Bishop will only need to play adequately over the next few weeks. Sutton will return then, and although he might need a few weeks to knock the rust off, he’ll at least be available if Bishop struggles again. The coaching staff believes in him, though, and he’ll get a chance to prove them right this week.
