Steelers Pushed to Sign Ex-49ers’ 39-Game Starter Right ‘Now’

Injuries have begun to mount for the Pittsburgh Steelers at nickel cornerback. Veteran Grayland Arnold was lost to the injured reserve with a calf injury while projected starter Beanie Bishop Jr. missed the second preseason outing with a hamstring.

Although Bishop is not expected to be out long, bringing in new competition for the undrafted rookie wouldn’t be the worst idea after losing Arnold. One free agent option could be veteran cornerback K’Waun Williams.

Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine pushed the Steelers to sign Williams right “now” on August 19.

“Undrafted free agent Beanie Bishop Jr. appears to be on track to start for the Steelers at slot cornerback,” Ballentine wrote. “It’s a cool story for the 24-year-old and an opportunity for Pittsburgh to potentially find a diamond in the rough. It’s still a bit scary to be relying on a UDFA from Week 1, though.”

The NFL analyst acknowledged that “there aren’t a lot of great slot options left on the free-agent market, but it might be worth it to see what K’Waun Williams looks like.” He added that “the slot specialist was cleared in March after missing all of last season with a foot injury.”

K’Waun Williams Would Bring Steelers Regular Season & Playoff Experience

If Bishop falters — or this hamstring injury lingers — it’d be nice to have some experience to fall back on. Williams would provide that so long as he’s in shape and ready to return.

After beginning his NFL career as an undrafted rookie with the Cleveland Browns in 2014, the 33-year-old defensive back really came into his own with the San Francisco 49ers from 2017 through 2021 — starting 36 regular season games. His most recent season was spent with the Denver Broncos in 2022.

Tally all that up and Williams has appeared in over 100 regular season contests, starting 54 of them. He’s broken up 34 passes over that span with 5 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles, 8.0 sacks and 23 tackles for a loss.

As a member of the Niners organization, Williams also appeared in 6 playoff outings, starting 3 of them. He broke up 4 passes in the playoffs with 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, 1.0 sack and 1 tackle for a loss.

Williams is older now and coming off a year on the sidelines, but he could at least be worth a tryout. After all, Steelers beat reporter Mark Kaboly reported that Pittsburgh could still “go shopping” in the slot if Bishop doesn’t show he’s ready during the final weeks of preseason on August 16.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Says Beanie Bishop Has ‘Big Week Ahead of Him’ After Injury Absence

Following the second preseason game, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters that the team decided to hold Bishop out against the Buffalo Bills after his hamstring limited him during joint practices.

“Beanie was a little bit limited on our last workday here on Thursday against Buffalo, so we didn’t want a small problem to become a big problem,” he said.

“Obviously, the sand’s going through the hourglass and he’s got a big week ahead of him,” the Steelers HC acknowledged, “but we didn’t want to jeopardize or compromise that, so we did what we thought was prudent tonight and didn’t allow him to participate.”

While Tomlin’s update hints that Bishop should be back practicing this week, it also alludes that the slot cornerback job is not won. The first-year UDFA has “a big week ahead of him.” Does that mean the Steelers could still consider bringing in a veteran to replace him as the starter?