DETROIT — Pittsburgh Steelers undrafted free agent cornerback Beanie Bishop received first-team reps at slot corner in training camp and the first preseason game, but an undisclosed injury has thrown a wrench in his availability and playing time over the last two games.
After missing the second preseason game against Buffalo, Bishop did not get onto the field until the second half of Saturday’s preseason finale against the Detroit Lions.
“He hadn’t worked a lot, and you got to earn opportunity,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said on why Bishop didn’t receive snaps until the second half. “Glad that he’s healthy. Wanted to give him an opportunity, but when you go into a game often times (it) is reflected of the work you do leading up to performance. And to be quite honest, he had limited availability, so he wasn’t deserving of (first-half) reps.”
Tomlin said after the Buffalo game last Saturday that the Steelers were being cautious with Bishop after he was limited for the team’s joint practice against the Bills on Thursday.
“Beanie was a little bit limited on our last workday here in Thursday against Buffalo, so we didn’t want a small problem to become a big problem,” Tomlin said last week. “Obviously the sand’s going through the hour glass and he’s got a big week ahead of him, but we didn’t want to jeopardize or compromise that, so we did what we thought was prudent tonight and did not allow him to participate.”
Thomas Graham received first-team reps over Beanie Bishop against Detroit, and with Mike Tomlin saying that this was a big week for him, that’s not an encouraging sign. Bishop might still make the 53-man roster, but the Steelers could be looking for an outside candidate at slot corner to add this week.
Joey Porter Jr., Donte Jackson, Corey Trice, Thomas Graham and Beanie Bishop are expected to be the Steelers five cornerbacks after roster cuts. Cam Sutton will serve an eight-game suspension without pay for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Detroit.
