Tag: Beanie Bishop

Steelers emerging rookie Beanie Bishop shouts out Mike Tomlin for rebound

After a shaky start to his rookie season, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop been impactful on defense.

Beanie Bishop’s rookie season started as most undrafted free agents do — bumpy. With Cameron Sutton suspended for the first eight games of the 2024 season, Bishop won the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting slot role during training camp but struggled out of the gate.

Early on, Bishop was harassed by veteran quarterbacks Kirk Cousins, Joe Flacco, and, most recently, Dak Prescott. He gave up touchdowns to the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts and even the Las Vegas Raiders.

But Bishop has settled in nicely, and his three-interception performance (in a two-game span) in October earned him the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Month.

For the rebound, Bishop credits extra film study with Mike Tomlin.

“People know I watch film with coach Tomlin on Friday mornings before meetings,” Bishop told Joe Rutter of TribLive. “But early in the week, when I get here, he’s seen me, and we watch this or that. I see what he’s looking at, and he’s giving me tips.”

The film study sessions intensified after Bishop allowed 90 passing yards and a 75% completion rate to Prescott in Week 5.

“He planted a bug in my ear,” Bishop said. “I came in Tuesday to get my workout in. He said, ‘You got a minute?’ We went up to his office. Last week, I asked him if he had a minute.”

Though he’s been impactful on defense, Bishop is expected to be demoted now that Sutton has been reinstated and he’s returned to the fold.

Bishop’s role will change, and there’s no telling how the Steelers will keep him involved. But he welcomes the return of Sutton, who’s been helping him learn and slow the game down.

“Cam has been helping me learn,” said Bishop. “To see the stuff he is seeing and trying to take a veteran approach to it. He’s seeing things I probably won’t because he’s been in the league for seven years. He’s helping me slow the game down. Ultimately, we win as a team, so I’m glad he’s been helping me.”

No matter what happens with Bishop, his story is a cool one. Going undrafted out of West Virginia and working his tail off to earn the starting role in camp is what football is all about.

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Aaron Rodgers makes Steelers CB Beanie Bishop’s postgame wish come true

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers agreed on The Pat McAfee Show to sign balls intercepted by Pittsburgh Steelers CB Beanie Bishop.

It’s every rookie cornerback’s dream to have a game like the one Beanie Bishop had under the Sunday Night Football lights. Not only did he become the talk of Pittsburgh after both interceptions led to touchdowns for the Steelers, but they came off throws from future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Bishop was like a kid on Christmas when asked what his plan was to do with the balls.

“I really want to get them signed and framed, for real… We’ll see how that goes, though,” Bishop said in a postgame interview with NBC’s Melissa Stark.

Although it seemed like a long-shot request, Rodgers said, “Yeah I can do that,” when asked in his weekly interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” (at 1:47 in video) whether he’d make the kid’s wish come true.

Bishop explained what he saw in both instances. “We knew how he liked to attack us. Whenever he sees the middle of the field open, he likes to throw those types of passes. I just happened to be right there and play what I saw. And then, on the second one, the ball tipped up. We knew that was a route that we gave up and that was a route they’ve been running, even in Green Bay. I played it right. The ball tipped up and I tried to house call it.”

Though Bishop couldn’t complete the house call, he set the Steelers up nicely for a Russell Wilson rushing touchdown to put Pittsburgh ahead by eight.

https://www.youtube.com/live/XpppkJTaWQI?si=wjo5zJ0zQhR8hFDf

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Surprise Steelers rookie named ‘young riser’ by ESPN

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop was named a young riser after his two-interception performance versus the New York Jets.

Any of the more casual Pittsburgh Steelers fans knew cornerback Beanie Bishop‘s name by the end of their team’s victory on Sunday Night Football.

The undrafted free agent had an up-and-down (mostly down) start to his pro career, but his surprise defensive performance versus the New York Jets changed that trajectory.

Bishop’s two interceptions of Aaron Rodgers have plenty of people talking and even prompted Brooke Pryor, Steelers insider for ESPN, to deem Bishop a “young riser.”

There’s plenty of options on a team as young as the Steelers, but it’s hard to choose anyone other than the 24-year-old rookie undrafted free agent after his two interceptions against quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Bishop had a bounce-back performance after getting picked apart by quarterback Dak Prescott two weeks earlier, and he did it in a big way, nearly returning his second career interception for a touchdown. The Steelers entered the season with no obvious heir to the slot corner spot, and it appeared the Steelers would have to get by with Cameron Sutton suspended the first eight games. Bishop, though, is showing why he earned first-team reps early in training camp.

Mike Tomlin and the Steelers front office left themselves no option but to start Bishop, who went undrafted out of West Virginia, in place of suspended veteran Cameron Sutton.

While there may be room for Bishop in some packages when Sutton returns to action after the bye week, he simply hasn’t done enough to warrant keeping the slot corner role.

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Steelers rookie pulls off huge performance in win over Jets

Steelers rookie Beanie Bishop intercepted Aaron Rodgers twice on Sunday night.

Welcome to the NFL rookie.

The bar for rookies in the NFL is raised every year. Young players are pressed into significant roles and where you are drafted doesn’t hold much weight. This is the case for Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop. Despite being an undrafted free agent out of West Virginia, he found himself the Steelers starting slot cornerback.

On Sunday night, Bishop had his welcome to the NFL moment against the New York Jets. Bishop was pushed into a heavy workload after starting cornerback Donte Jackson went down with a shoulder injury and Bishop delivered.

Bishop picked off Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers twice Sunday night and nearly returned one of them for a touchdown. Bishop has answered every challenge he’s faced since joining the Steelers shortly after the 2024 NFL draft.

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Steelers CB Beanie Bishop wants Aaron Rodgers to autograph his interceptions

Beanie Bishop had his first two NFL interceptions on Sunday night.

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop had a huge coming out party on Sunday night. The undrafted rookie out of West Virginia was pressed into duty as the team’s starting slot cornerback at the start of the season and had been up and down in the first six games.

But on Sunday night, Bishop got his first and second NFL interceptions off of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. In a postgame interview with NBC sideline reporter Melissa Stark, Bishop broke down how he picked off the future Hall of Famer twice but then he surprised us.

Stark asked Bishop what he was going to do with the two interception balls. Bishop took Stark and everyone by surprise when he said he wants to try to get Rodgers to autograph them. That’s a huge ask and we hope he isn’t disappointed when Rodgers declines that request.

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Steelers blow out Jets in all phases

The Steelers blew out the Jets 37-15 with Russell Wilson under center.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made a controversial decision this week to bench quarterback Justin Fields in favor or Russell Wilson to take on the New York Jets. After one game, the move looks brilliant as the Steelers rattle off 31 unanswered points to beat the Jets 37-15 and improve to 5-2 on the season.

Wilson looked rusty out of the gates but after a rough first quarter, Wilson and the rest of the Steelers settled down and took control of the game. Wilson took plenty of shots downfield resulting in 264 passing yards with 111 of those going to wide receiver George Pickens. The run game was on point as well with Najee Harris finishing with 108 rushing yards and both Pickens and Harris found the end zone.

The Steelers defense was not to be outdone. They held Jets running back Breece Hall to just 38 rushing yards. Jets QB Aaron Rodgers did throw for 276 yards but much of that came early and once the defense settled in they put the clamps on. Speaking of clamps, rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop finished with two interceptions. The first two of his young career.

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Steelers CB leads all UDFA rookies in snaps through Week 6

Steelers CB Beanie Bishop leads all UDFA rookies in snaps through Week 6

Undrafted free agents are always easy to root for, especially for fans of the underdog story. They’re also an integrally cost-effective way for NFL teams to balance out their rosters.

Through the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season, the most impactful undrafted rookie has been Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop. No rookie UDFA has played more than Bishop, who has logged 247 defensive snaps through Week 6. That includes one start and an average of 41 snaps per game while serving as the Steelers’ primary slot corner.

His play, as you might expect of a rookie UDFA thrown into the fire, has been up and down. Bishop has 14 tackles, a half-sack and two passes defended for Pittsburgh so far. However, Bishop is proving he deserved stronger consideration and respect during the 2024 NFL Draft process.

Steelers could keep 3 UDFAs this season

The Steelers have some solid undrafted players who could make the final roster.

The level of detail the Pittsburgh Steelers put into the entire process from the 2024 NFL draft to the undrafted free-agency period has been a clinic in finding athletes to fill the team’s most significant needs.

Pittsburgh signed a particularly small group of UDFAs this year but it is all part of their plan. If the players signed, we like three of them to make the team either as part of the 53-man roster or on the practice squad.

First up we have cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. Physical, scrappy, quick and strong against the run sounds like a Steelers slot cornerback to me. The team is excited about what Bishop brings as a sort of hybrid cornerback/safety up and around the line of scrimmage and he has a real shot to make the final roster.

The Steelers went out and signed quarterback John Rhys Plumlee based on his remarkable athleticism and intangibles. All Plumlee needs to do in order to make the roster is beat out veteran Kyle Allen.

Finally, we have running back Daijun Edwards. More football player than athlete, Edwards was particularly productive at Georgia around the end zone and with the team in need of a No. 3 running back, he could slide right into that role without much competition.

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Steelers agree to terms with West Virginia UDFA CB Beanie Bishop

After taking Ryan Watts with their final pick in the draft, the Steelers turned around and added West Virginia UDFA corner Beanie Bishop. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers can never have enough cornerbacks. After selecting Ryan Watts with their final pick in the draft, Pittsburgh turned around and added West Virginia undrafted free agent corner Beanie Bishop.

Here’s what NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein had to say about Bishop:

After six years and three college stops, Bishop burst on the scene with major ball production in 2023. He was frequently targeted as an undersized outside corner at West Virginia and gave up his share of catch yardage. Bishop struggles with a lack of speed and length when beaten early in man coverage and allows easy catches in front of him from shuffle technique. When in phase, Bishop’s quick feet and burst to close allow him to attack passing lanes and disrupt the catch. He plays with adequate aggression against the run and is best suited playing from the slot with his eyes forward from short-zone and off-man coverages.

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West Virginia CB Beanie Bishop has top 30 visit with Commanders

Washington hosted another cornerback on a top 30 visit.

The Washington Commanders spent a considerable portion of the pre-draft process evaluating offensive tackles and cornerbacks. Washington used several of its top 30 visits on the two positions, often evaluating players who will be drafted after the first round.

We’ve learned of another cornerback Washington recently hosted on a top-30 visit. According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Commanders recently hosted West Virginia cornerback Beanie Bishop.

As noted with several of Washington’s other visitors, Bishop has high-level traits. The 5-foot-10, 184-pound Bishop has blazing speed, running a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the Big 12 pro day. The knock on Bishop is his size.

Bishop began his career at Western Kentucky, playing there for three seasons. In 2022, he transferred to Minnesota. He moved to West Virginia in 2023, looking for a more defined role. The move served Bishop well, as he led the nation in pass breakups, had four interceptions, and was named an All-American.

Bishop’s size would lead you to believe he’d play the slot in the NFL. However, he played outside at West Virginia, and that versatility will serve him well at the next level.

Bishop is viewed as a Day-3 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.