As a rookie last season, Beanie Bishop Jr. admits he was part of the Steelers’ problem in the defensive backfield. Going into his second year, he wants to ensure that he is part of the solution. That starts with earning, or regaining, a starting job, but it certainly does not stop there.
While he ran with the starters during the spring, Bishop is taking nothing for granted, as he told Mike DeFabo recently.
“At the end of the day, they still don’t have a lot of money invested in me,” he said “They obviously drafted a guy [Donte Kent] this year. Brought in [Brandin Echols]. So I’m never just comfortable and like, ‘Oh yeah, this is my spot.'”
Former undrafted free agents rarely seem ever to develop that mentality, no matter how greatly they transcend their initial pedigree. In Beanie Bishop’s case, though, he already feels he lost his job once. Although the Steelers likely started him last season as a placeholder, he watched Cameron Sutton return from suspension and usurp his spot on the field.
Part of the reason, Bishop believes, that the Steelers moved away from him was because of his lapses in communication. He told DeFabo that he admittedly had “bad eyes” at times while playing man coverage as a rookie. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, Sutton played with bad everything in place of him.
The Steelers defense suffered crippling communication breakdowns last season, and Beanie Bishop was at times the culprit. That’s hardly a shock for a rookie who spent most of his college career in small schools. Not that he would use that as an excuse. But starting in the slot as a rookie is challenging under the best circumstances. The slot defender is one of the most mentally demanding jobs in the game.
The good news is that even Beanie Bishop is seeing a “night and day” difference in himself in Year 2. That’s not surprising in May and June, but it’s a different story in November. If he is a different player for the Steelers by that point, they may be on to something.
Whether Bishop starts in the slot or not, the Steelers appear confident in their current options. Not that teams often admit to shortcomings in their roster, at least until they make another move. As always, actions speak louder than words, so if they do make a move, you’ll know what they really think.
Many believe the Steelers will make the cornerback position a priority next offseason, and that’s not surprising. Irrespective of Beanie Bishop and the slot, they also have Darius Slay on a one-year contract. Even if they get one good year out of him, that may be the limit. If they don’t find a stable slot defender this year, they may have to replace 40 percent of the secondary.
It’s manageable, but their pursuit of a quarterback will make it that much more difficult. All the more reason for Bishop to want to give the Steelers one less thing to worry about.
