Will Cameron Sutton take over Beanie Bishop Jr.’s job when he returns from suspension for the Steelers?
The Pittsburgh Steelers brought back Cameron Sutton this year knowing they would have to wait for him and hoping that Beanie Bishop Jr. could hold on while they waited. Bishop, an undrafted rookie, nearly lost his grip during the first five weeks. Over the past two games, however, he has played at a higher level.
Now Bishop has one more game to go before the Steelers’ Week 9 bye. And Cameron Sutton has one more game to go until he can return from his suspension. So what will happen in the slot in Week 10, and how much will Week 8 have to do with it?
I don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but Mike Tomlin likes himself some veteran experience. Supposedly Donte Jackson and DeShon Elliot are not new to the league even though they’re new to the Steelers, apparently. You get the idea. So will Sutton and his experience supplant Bishop? Will Bishop hold off Sutton, at least initially, or perhaps will they split duties?
One factor to consider is the Steelers will also hopefully get Cory Trice Jr. back at the same time. Trice is an outside cornerback while Sutton can play anywhere, and Bishop is more inside. But all along the Steelers were presumed to have re-signed Sutton for the purpose of playing in the slot.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently said the Steelers are still kind of counting down the weeks until Cameron Sutton returns from suspension, the implication being that they believe he could really shore up the defense. If that is true, how much can Beanie Bishop Jr. change that attitude this next week? He has had, more or less, two good games back-to-back, but he had a hard time previously.
The beauty of getting Sutton back is the fact that they can stick him anywhere. He doesn’t necessarily have to “replace” Bishop in order to contribute. He can play in the dime, or against certain personnel, or in certain situations. Or he could replace Bishop entirely as the primary nickel defender. We’ll have to see how things play out a couple weeks from now.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is underway, following another disappointing year ending in a first-round playoff loss. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January. There are positive signs, but things could jump off the rails any moment.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Will Russell Wilson regain his job when he is healthy, or is Justin Fields stealing it? How will the team continue to address the depth chart, which is surprisingly still in flux?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
