A year ago, the last man standing became the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting slot cornerback. This year, it’s a full house. That leaves second-year Beanie Bishop Jr. fighting for a role and possibly even a roster spot. Mike Tomlin’s advice is to spend less time watching the depth chart and more time getting better.
“I don’t worry about the Joneses and neither should he,” Tomlin told the media following Monday’s practice via the team website. “He should focus on improving, and he has done that.”
Tomlin’s response came after being informed of Bishop’s comments to reporters about the players ahead of him on the depth chart. Jalen Ramsey is the obvious name, but Brandin Echols worked ahead of Bishop during Saturday’s preseason game. This effectively made Bishop the third-string option, though Echols’ versatility also makes him a top backup on the outside.
Last year, Bishop had little competition. Pittsburgh brought in few options, and the ones added came and went. Josiah Scott was cut early in camp, Grayland Arnold was injured, and Cam Sutton was suspended for the first half of the season. Bishop kept his head above water until Sutton returned and then spent the second half of the year on the bench.
Pittsburgh made it a point to improve the slot cornerback position, which has been problematic since Mike Hilton’s departure. Ramsey will wear many hats, but is the Steelers’ top slot option. Echols has received more work there over the past week and enjoyed an impressive camp that makes him next-man-up at potentially all three cornerback spots.
While Tomlin’s words are clearly meant to challenge Bishop, he offered praise of progress that’s been made.
“The growth between year one and year two is reasonable to expect individuals to grow,” he said. “Not only in terms of knowledge but skill relative to their positions, and I like the trajectory of his progress in those areas.”
Bishop was thrown into the deep end as a rookie. Now, he’s feeling the squeeze and is without a clear role. Not known as a special teams stalwart and receiving only three in the most recent preseason game, he could wind up inactive to begin the season. That assumes he makes the 53-man roster, which is suddenly no sure thing.
