Will the Steelers keep Beanie Bishop Jr. as a slot cornerback or try to improve him?
At least at the time of this writing, the Steelers don’t have many options for slot defenders. There’s essentially Beanie Bishop Jr. and then a handful of guys who could play in the slot. Bishop is the only true slot cornerback on the 53, but several others have done a bit of work inside. The Steelers have even used Darius Rush and Cory Trice Jr. in the slot as potential tight end erasers.
Of course, the Steelers have some safeties who could play in the slot, like Damontae Kazee and Jalen Elliott. But they wouldn’t put Kazee in the slot starting lineup and ask him to play more than 50 snaps. But would they really ask that of Bishop now?
The Steelers lost a number of slot options during training camp due to injuries. Grayland Arnold was one of the key injured players, and previously they also parted ways with Josiah Scott. Thomas Graham Jr. was a late push, but the Steelers did not keep him on the roster, only Bishop.
Although Bishop had a good offseason, he was unable to finish well due to injury. He missed the second preseason game and then only played in the second half of the final because he didn’t get enough training during his recovery.
All in all, the slot cornerback position seems to be a major area where the Steelers could look to strengthen. They haven’t cleared any waiver claims, but that doesn’t mean they can’t sign someone else. Beanie Bishop Jr. could very well prove capable of doing exactly what the Steelers need, but are they willing to find out? Are they at least willing to let him try without having a viable fallback option?
Of course, the Steelers will get Cameron Sutton back after eight games, but that’s almost halfway through the season. What happens if it’s clear in Week 4 that Bishop is overmatched? I guess that’s the difference between me and Mike Tomlin: I live in my fears. That’s definitely the only difference between the two of us.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, after another disappointing year that ended with a first-round playoff loss. The only change in the annual formula of late is whether they’ll be eliminated early or miss the playoffs altogether. They’ve had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills put them out of their misery in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Will Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team or will they waste a year? How will the team continue the depth diagram?
After weeks of training camp and preseason games, the regular season is here. The Steelers have made numerous changes through signings, trades and firings. More than usual, they seemed to help create holes and were confident they could fill them. Some they were able to fill, others less so. But now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, we just have to ask ourselves a new set of questions.
