Last year, Beanie Bishop Jr. was a nice surprise at nickel corner, and he came away with a few big turnovers. However, he’s now in a precarious position after Pittsburgh added to its cornerback room in a major way this offseason. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin acknowledged Bishop’s fight for a roster spot on Monday.
“Well, where Beanie fits in is he’s really going against some pretty good competition now at the nickel, when you throw number five [Jalen Ramsey] in there, and then you throw BE [Brandin Echols] in there,” Austin said Monday via a team-provided transcript. “He’s really got to fight and work to make some splash, to put himself in the picture…These preseason games are going to be big for Beanie in a sense of he’s got one left to show us some good stuff, and I’m sure he will.”
Bishop had a strong rookie season. His completion rate of 57.1 percent and passer rating of 59.5 allowed when targeted were each impressive. Coming into the offseason, many thought he could fight for a large share of playing time in his second year.
However, Pittsburgh now has two more cornerbacks who can play the nickel in Jalen Ramsey and Brandin Echols. Ramsey’s obviously got far more of a resume than Bishop and was a First Team All-Pro at nickel as recently as 2021. The emergence of Echols this preseason hasn’t helped Bishop’s case, either.
That makes Beanie Bishop’s effort for playing time harder, and it could even crunch him out of a roster spot. Both Ramsey and Echols can play on the outside, while Bishop can’t. Ramsey is obviously getting playing time either way, but that versatility from Echols could give him the edge over Bishop. As a cornerback trying to squeak out a roster spot, finding a use on special teams really helps. Bishop can do that, but he’s even got some competition there as well in James Pierre and Donte Kent.
It also doesn’t help Bishop’s case that Austin has had plenty of nice things to say about the rest of the position. Speaking Monday, Austin offered praise for Echols, Cory Trice Jr. and even a newcomer in Daryl Porter.
It’s going to be a fight for Bishop, for sure. Three cornerbacks are already guaranteed a spot in Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. Maybe Ramsey’s ability to play safety convinces them to keep seven cornerbacks, including him. But anything above that number won’t happen, and it would likely stay at six.
That leaves three or four spots left for Bishop, Echols, Trice, Pierre, Kent and Porter to fight for. And potentially even D’Shawn Jamison, who made some plays on Saturday. Echols, Kent and Porter were all brought in this offseason. That could give them a leg up, and Austin spoke highly of Trice on Monday, as well.
Beanie Bishop certainly could still find his way onto the roster. However, he might need a big day Thursday against the Panthers to do it.
