PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The curious case of Beanie Bishop was part of the more interesting Steelers roster decisions as the got down to 53 players Tuesday afternoon.
An undrafted free agent All-American from West Virginia, the first sign of potential roster issues for Bishop, who started six and played in all 17 games last year, was the signing of Brandin Echols when free agency opened.
Echols is an experienced NFL corner and slot who would go right to the position Bishop played.
The next move that made it extremely difficult for Bishop to stay on the Steelers roster was the trade for Jalen Ramsey. Already with Darius Slay and Joey Porter, Junior, Ramsey was the player most suited for a nickel role. Yet another veteran would could play his position.
Bishop got plenty of camp reps as Ramsey missed time due to rest and potentially a minor injury. There was this warning from Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin going into the last preseason game as Bishop had played 45 snaps with six tackles.
“He’s really got to fight and work to make some splash to put himself in the picture,” Austin said last week.
Curiously Bishop didn’t even dress for the last preseason game.
S Chuck Clark
It appeared Clark fit in well with the roster, immediately came into practice and made plays. At a point the 30-year-old was battling with Juan Thornhill, but despite Thornhill’s issues in Cleveland last year, Mike Tomlin has praised his work. The former Raven missed all of 2023 with an ACL injury and started 12 games for the Jets last year.
CB James Pierre
The sixth-year NFL vet played 524 special teams snaps the last two seasons for the Steelers and has started eight games at cornerback over that time. With Echols ability to play on the outside and Cory Trice remaining, but working back from injury on short-term IR, Pierre became expendable. The team is also high on seventh round pick Donte Kent, even though he missed a lot of time due to injury.
WR Robert Woods
It’s probably not as much what the veteran didn’t do, rather what Scotty Miller did. Miller rarely made a mistake, in fact in practice the other day he dropped a toe-touch pass that caught everyone’s attention because it was so rare. Miller can return or play coverage in special teams and has been singled out by Aaron Rodgers for his football IQ.
OT Dylan Cook
The team has loved his athleticism, but an injury last year really stunted his development and with the mentality to win now they went with veteran Calvin Anderson as the swing tackle and veteran Andrus Peat as not only a back-up guard, but with the ability to play tackle. Same can be said for Spencer Anderson.