Why didn’t roster-bubble DB Beanie Bishop Jr. play in the Steelers’ preseason finale?
Beanie Bishop Jr. entered the final preseason game firmly on the roster bubble, as confirmed by Steelers DC Teryl Austin. Then, upon initial appearance, he didn’t play in the game, and we don’t know why. At least according to Pro Football Focus’ snap counts, he didn’t see the field on defense, and nobody seemed to notice him on special teams.
We don’t know if this is a good sign or a bad sign for Bishop, but I’m leaning toward bad. Austin said he has to fight for his roster spot, so when he said that he expected Bishop to play. There is some chance, perhaps, that they decided he is making the team, so they elected not to play him.
More likely, though, he didn’t play either due to injury or perhaps due to some disciplinary or personal reason. In terms of his job security, the personal matter would be the best-case scenario for Bishop. An injury or discipline would be a much bigger problem, given how far he is on the fringes.
The Steelers signed Beanie Bishop as an undrafted free agent last year. He played a significant role on defense for the first half of the season and intercepted four passes in total. Since last season, Pittsburgh has significantly revamped its secondary, adding Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, and Brandin Echols.
As a slot-only player, Bishop is likely third, at best, to play there behind Ramsey and Echols. While he can play on special teams, it was never a huge part of his game. He only played nine snaps in the first two preseason games. He did log 175 snaps last year, but others log 300-plus.
Prior to last night’s game, I and many others had Beanie Bishop inside the Steelers’ roster bubble. It’s hard to reconcile that, however, with the fact that he did not play last night after Teryl Austin’s comments. You can’t say a player has to compete for his job, then watch him not play, and think he’s fine.
Unless or until we know why Bishop didn’t play last night, we can’t gauge what this means for him. Perhaps he tweaked a hamstring in pre-game warmups or something. We’ll know more on Tuesday, however, when the Steelers trim their roster to 53 men.
The Steelers are rebuilding, or reloading, whatever they feel the need to call it, after another disappointment last season. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. While they made a lot of moves, they have to put the pieces together. The 2025 NFL Draft class could play a big role, but veteran additions will be paramount.
Now we are heading into the regular season. From Aaron Rodgers to George Pickens to Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jalen Ramsey, we’ve seen the Steelers make some big changes. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and filling holes as we go.
