Will Beanie Bishop Jr. redeem himself after a rough outing against the Cowboys?
The way things are going, Beanie Bishop Jr. is in line to start, at most, three more games. After the bye week, the Steelers will have Cameron Sutton returning from suspension, and they won’t be able to get him on the field fast enough.
Bishop has a slight chance of changing that, but he needs to turn things around over the next three weeks. The rookie college free agent earned the Steelers’ starting nickel cornerback job, but that was largely by default. He was the proverbial last man standing, yet he dealt with his own injuries.
While Beanie Bishop has had his ups and downs, he reached a low point against the Cowboys. Aside from his multiple penalties, the Steelers also gave up key plays with him in coverage. At other times he was clearly not on the same page as the rest of the defense.
These sorts of issues are not uncommon among rookies, but Bishop also lacks experience against much higher competition. And based on my research, there is little he can do to get any taller or bigger with his frame.
The Steelers need to improve their play from the slot position, whether that is by replacing Bishop or Bishop stabilizing himself. The rest of the secondary has been solid, aside from the occasional communication breakdown. But opposing offenses are really starting to exploit the slot defender, and the Steelers are pretty much hanging on for the next three weeks.
Throughout the week, the Steelers haven’t said a word about changing course. They may reveal something else on Sunday, but until we see that, they evidently plan to stick with Bishop for now. That’s all fine and good, but if he has one more bad game, it may force them to do something a little more drastic. They do have Thomas Graham Jr. on the practice squad, but that may be more of a lateral move.
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.
