Beanie Bishop Breaks Ground as Steelers UDFA Starter

UNITY TWP., Pa. — Beanie Bishop is officially a starter. The Pittsburgh Steelers undrafted free agent cornerback out of West Virginia is first on the depth chart as the team’s Nickel cornerback for the Steelers’ preseason opener against Houston this Friday night.

Records are incomplete, but it is believed to be the first time in recent team history that an undrafted free agent will begin his Steelers career as a depth-chart starter for his very first preseason game. The last rookie overall to start a preseason opener was George Pickens in 2022.

Bishop beat out vets Josiah Scott, the starter in the spring who was released early into training camp, Grayland Arnold and Thomas Graham Jr. for the job.

“I feel that I had a pretty good OTAs and minicamp,” Bishop said. “I knew I was going to get some reps. This many reps? I wasn’t really sure about.”

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop chases wide receiver Scotty Miller during practice on Aug. 3, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

Bishop may only hold the job for the first half of the season. Cam Sutton, who was the team’s Nickel back for multiple seasons in his first stint in Pittsburgh, is suspended for the first eight games of the 2024 season. He is currently listed third on the depth chart behind Bishop and Arnold.

The Steelers will also feature safety DeShon Elliott playing in the box in their three-safety “Heavy Nickel” package, but in terms of passing-down Nickel roles, expect it to be the youngster from WVU.

“He gives you some speed, he gives you some ability to cover, he is — from what we saw with college tape and things we are starting to see now — he is a pretty tough guy and he’s a pretty competitive guy,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “So that gives him the baseline that you need him to play in there.”

Bishop also can make plays on the ball. In a training camp practice on Saturday, he intercepted a screen pass and took it to the house for a touchdown. He led the country with 24 pass breakups with the Mountaineers last season.

The Steelers will host the Texans at 7 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium on Friday. Houston is expected to play its starters for at least part of the game.

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