Steelers Slot CB Beanie Bishop Out Against Bills

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers slot corner Beanie Bishop is not in uniform for the Steelers-Bills preseason game at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday. He’s in street clothes on the sideline.

It’s unclear what injury Bishop has. Bishop participated the Steelers-Bills joint practice on Thursday.

Bishop received first-team reps throughout training camp and the first preseason game. Thomas Graham Jr. will receive starting reps with Bishop sidelined.

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.”

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. He displayed that during training camp, taking one pass for a pick-six. He led the country with 24 pass breakups with the Mountaineers last season.

STEELERS INJURY REPORT