The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of name recognition in the cornerback room for the 2025 season. Joey Porter Jr. is still an absolute menace in press man coverage, and he is expected to take a step forward in his third year. Darius Slay and Brandin Echols were signed to bring some veteran knowledge onto the field, with the latter being able to rotate between slot and outside. On top of that, Pittsburgh traded for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who is expected to see a lot of snaps at every single position in the secondary.
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Steelers CB Jalen Ramsey smiling on the sidelines while a member of the Miami Dolphins.
However, one man's misfortune is another man's fortune. Mike DeFabo of The Athletic noted that there would be an interesting training camp battle between two highly talented cornerbacks: Cory Trice Jr. and Beanie Bishop Jr. He put a lot of focus on Bishop and what the Ramsey trade means for him at this point.
"Before the Ramsey trade, Bishop looked like he had secured a starting role in the nickel," DeFabo said. "Now, his best chance to see the field could be in the dime defense with six DBs on the field together."
Bishop had a solid rookie season at slot corner, especially for an undrafted free agent. He had four interceptions, which was second most on the team, to go along with seven passes defended and a fumble recovery. He played about half of the defensive snaps in 2024 and was still making his presence known against some of the shiftier slot receivers in the NFL.
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Steelers' Beanie Bishop Jr. celebrates after a game winning interception against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
However, the recent acquisitions have made it so Bishop may not have a place on the roster anymore. Ramsey's primary role is expected to be as a slot receiver. When he's playing elsewhere, Echols could slot in and play that role. That leaves very little time for the 25-year-old to be on the field.
Steelers May Not Even Give Bishop The Dime Corner Role In 2025
To make matters worse, the man that Bishop is fighting for the dime spot against is Trice, who played a lot of snaps in that role, and that's how he established himself as a quality corner whenever he's healthy.
"Often, teams like to use a safety body type in that role, because they’ll have just one inside linebacker on the field and need another physical player who can tackle," DeFabo said. "Trice, who is 6-foot-3 and dabbled at safety in college, fit that mold and earned much of his early playing time in dime last year. We’ll see how the rotation works out in camp."
Bishop previously complained that people wanted bigger corners than him, even though he played very well in his rookie season. Now, he could lose his roster spot because the Steelers' typical dime corner is bigger and can play outside as well. Bishop could go from underrated rookie phenom to looking for a job after roster cutdown day.
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Steelers' Cory Trice Jr. with the football after takeaway.
Bishop does have an edge over the former seventh-round cornerback: he can stay healthy. Trice missed all of his rookie season with an injury, and he was also out for a large chunk of his second year. In fact, his injury concerns in college caused him to plummet all the way down to the final round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Sometimes, your best ability is availability, and the former undrafted free agent has shown that he can play as a starter or as a backup by staying off the injury list.
There are definitely some teams that have a hole in the secondary and could use a player like Bishop if he doesn't end up making the Steelers' roster. He has proven that he can be a capable starter, even though Pittsburgh clearly doesn't see it that way with all the moves they made to replace him this offseason.
What do you think about Bishop potentially losing his roster spot because of the Ramsey trade? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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