UDFA CB Beanie Bishop Chance of Making Steelers Roster Just Got Better
Darius Rush is apart of a thin position room and the Steelers are looking for him and the other young corners to step up in 2024.
The Steelers liked Beanie Bishop in the pre-draft process but never drafted him. Luckily for them, nobody did and they were able to scoop him up as an undrafted free agent. That signing is looking better and better everyday now that Cam Sutton’s suspension was announced.
Bishop, while being an undrafted rookie, is in a serious position battle with a handful of guys for the starting nickelback role. Not only will the winner of that battle start in Atlanta in Week 1 but for a majority of the season until the team gets Sutton back from suspension.
In preparation for the position battle, Bishop is watching tape of former Steelers nickelback Mike Hilton. That is starting to become the trend for young slot corners that sign with the Steelers.
“Mike Hilton, that’s kind of the prototype for the slot corner,” Bishop said. “I’ll go and watch some of his tape and things like that. Guys tell me to watch his tape and just go look at how they want the nickel to play here.”
Bishop carries the same mentality that Hilton played with during his time with the team. He said that he loves to tackle and be physical against wide receivers.
“I like to hit guys in the mouth. A lot of receivers don’t like to play like that,” Bishop said. “There are a lot of receivers who are pretty and stuff like that. I don’t like to be a pretty player. I’m one of those nasty and physical guys. I play with an edge to my game and I’m fearless.”
Coming out of high school Bishop was under recruited due to his size. That also was probably the reason that he went undrafted despite leading the FBS in pass breakups in 2023. He uses that as motivation and said that he always has been one to be overlooked.
“Coming out of high school I wasn’t a highly recruited guy and I only had one FBS offer,” Bishop said. “I kind of take the same approach of being the smaller guy and a guy that was overlooked and I always play with a chip on my shoulder.”
After spending four years at Western Kentucky, Bishop transferred to Minnesota and then to West Virginia. The reason that he went back to school after his one season as a Gopher was to showcase his ballhawk abilities, something he was unable to do at Minnesota.
“I wanted to show that I’m elite when the ball is in the air. Whenever the ball is in the air, it’s just as much mine as it is theirs (the receivers),” Bishop said.
While it looks like Bishop has a solid chance to make the squad as an undrafted free agent, he is just excited to be a part of an organization like the Steelers.
“I’m just excited to be a part of a great defense and a great organization,” Bishop told reporters . “It’s a team that is going to win every year and have a great defense so I am just excited to fit in with the guys and be a part of the organization.”
As it looks now, Bishop is one of about six guys vying to become the Steelers starting slot cornerback. If he misses the final cut for the 53-man, Bishop is a prime candidate for the practice squad.
30 • Beanie Bishop, Cornerback, West Virginia
5-foot-9, 182 pounds, 25 years old, 1st Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Beanie Bishop as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft.
Last season: In his lone season at West Virginia, Beanie Bishop transformed his game. He became the 13th consensus All-American in school history for his outstanding play and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors following the season. He started all 13 games for the Mountaineers and ranked first in the country with 24 passes defended and 20 pass breakups. He totaled 67 tackles and four interceptions in 2023. Additionally, he finished second in the entire country with 17 credited forced incompletions.
College: Beanie Bishop received just one FBS offer when he came out of high school. Bishop committed to Western Kentucky and spent his first four collegiate seasons there. He made a name for himself during his redshirt junior season when he earned first-team All-Conference USA honors following the season. In that season, Bishop started 10 of 13 games and logged 43 combined tackles, three interceptions and seven defended passes.
Following that breakout season, Bishop transferred to Minnesota to play for P.J. Fleck. In his lone season as a Gopher, Bishop appeared in 13 ball games and combined for 29 tackles and just one defended pass. Due to his lack of production in the Gophers’ defense, Bishop transferred again.
Over his six collegiate seasons, Bishop appeared in 62 games for three universities. He racked up 172 total tackles, seven interceptions and 37 defended passes.
Year | School | GP | GS | TKLs | INTs | PDs |
2018 | W. Kentucky | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | W. Kentucky | 13 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 |
2020 | W. Kentucky | 6 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 4 |
2021 | W. Kentucky | 13 | 10 | 43 | 3 | 7 |
2022 | Minnesota | 13 | – | 29 | 0 | 1 |
2023 | West Virginia | 13 | 13 | 67 | 4 | 24 |
Salary cap and future: Beanie Bishop signed as a priority undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft meaning he signed a three-year deal. Bishop’s deal is worth $2.85 million in total money. If he makes the Steelers final roster, Bishop will cost $803,333 against the cap space in 2024.
As long as Bishop is on the active roster, Bishop’s deal will keep in Pittsburgh until the conclusion of the 2026 season.
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