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Given how much their team changed in the offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers were forced to make several surprising moves during their 2025 final roster cuts. Several notable players were surprisingly omitted from the team’s 53-man roster, but arguably none were more shocking than cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr.
In addition to Bishop, the Steelers also distinctly released Robert Woods, Trey Sermon, DeMarvin Leal, Cameron Johnston, Lance McCutcheon and Brandon Johnson. Undrafted free agents Sebastian Castro and Daryl Porter Jr. also fell short in their quests to make the roster.
Pittsburgh found a way to retain all seven of its 2025 draft picks during its final roster cuts. However, quarterback Will Howard and cornerback Donte Kent — two of the team’s final three selections — will begin the year on injured reserve.
The Steelers are almost unrecognizable in 2025, returning just 16 starters across the board. Pittsburgh made significant changes in all three phases of the game. Their signing of Aaron Rodgers and trades involving DK Metcalf and George Pickens stole headlines, but the team experienced more turnover than nearly every other team in the league. The stout offensive line and edge-rushing units are the only two that return intact in 2025.
The wealth of moves the Steelers made in the offseason left little room for veterans like Woods or undrafted players like Castro to make the 2025 roster. Yet, as a returning starter, Bishop seemed to be in a safe spot. Instead, he finds himself on Pittsburgh’s practice squad to begin the year, just eight months after making his last start.
Although players like Woods and Leal have more name value, neither of their releases was more surprising than Bishop’s.
Although he barely snuck onto the Steelers’ 2024 roster as an undrafted free agent, it did not take Bishop long to breach the starting lineup. The former All-American quickly established himself as the starting nickelback in Teryl Austin’s defense and made an early impact. Bishop earned the AFC Rookie of the Month award in October, during which he recorded five pass breakups and three interceptions.
NEWS: #Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop has been named ROOKIE OF THE MONTH.
• Bishop led the league with 3 INTs, ranked 2nd among rookies with 5 passes defensed, and had 16 tackles in October.
• Only NFL player with 15+ tackles, 3 INTs, and a tackle for loss in Weeks 5-8
•… pic.twitter.com/Mpfo2u7uMs— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 31, 2024
Unfortunately for Bishop, his rookie season was a tale of two halves. After starting five of the first 10 games, Bishop only started one of Pittsburgh’s final seven contests in 2024. He fell almost entirely out of the rotation in the final two weeks, playing just six total defensive snaps in Weeks 17 and 18.
As disappointing as the end of his season was, Bishop still overachieved as an undrafted free agent. Scouts worried about his size, but Bishop built a stable foundation...
