2024 Steelers Exit Interviews: Beanie Bishop Jr. and Cameron Sutton
The Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 NFL season has come to a close. Because the Steelers are among the 31 teams who did not finish fulfilling their ultimate goal, they are in the process of wrapping up their season and moving forward into 2025.
Since the Steelers conduct exit interviews with all their players, and the fact I have done these articles in the past, we thought we would do them yet again here at Steel Curtain Network. By outlining two players each day, we will be able to look at their season in retrospect as well as looking toward the future. Since Coach Tomlin has previously stated he starts his interviews with rookies and those heading into free agency, we will attempt to do the same to some degree. To start, we will pair the most recent draftees with another player at the same position (if possible) as we work through this process to eventually cover the entire Steelers roster.
Next up are cornerbacks Beanie Bishop Jr. and Cameron Sutton.
Beanie Bishop Jr.
Position: Cornerback
Years with the Steelers: 1
Years in the NFL: 1
Contract Status: Signed through 2026
Contract Details: $968,333 salary cap hit for 2025. Would cost the Steelers $16,667 in dead money if released and save $951,666.
Games played in 2024: 17 regular season
Games started in 2024: 6 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 548 (defense), 175 (special teams)
PFF score: 55.6 (95th of 116)
Notable stats: Bishop had 45 tackles, 2 of which were for loss, 0.5 sacks, 4 interceptions, and 7 passes defensed with 2 touchdowns surrendered.
Notes: Some players just have a knack where the ball finds them on defense. Beanie Bishop seems to be one of those players. With four interceptions his rookie season as an undrafted free agent, Bishop had his ups and downs playing slot corner back in 2024. A lot of times the good outweigh the bad. But as the season went on and Cam Sutton returned from suspension, Bishop saw his snaps getting fewer and fewer despite Sutton being one of the worst ranked cornerbacks in the NFL. Obviously there was some trust issues going on with the Steelers and Bishop, but hopefully they can work through them in year two. The Steelers should not be complacent to merely have Bishop be the guy in the slot this coming season, but there’s also no reason to keep his name out of the mix.
Cameron Sutton
Position: Cornerback
Years with the Steelers: 7
Years in the NFL: 8
Contract Status: Free Agent
Contract Details: Contract expiring with no dead money.
Games played in 2024: 9 regular season
Games started in 2024: 2 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 256 (defense), 30 (special teams)
PFF score: 49.5 (DNQ for ranking)
Notable stats: Sutton had 15 tackles and 3 passes defensed with 3 touchdowns surrendered.
Notes: As mentioned above, Cam Sutton did not appear to make the Steelers defense stronger down the stretch. While it would seem reasonable that there could be communication issues with an undrafted rookie playing in the secondary, it seemed like communication was no better, if not worse, when Sutton was on the field. It was rumored that Sutton was the main recipient of the criticism when it was implied one person was not doing their job on the defense, but those statements didn’t necessarily mean it was the same person every time. Either way, Sutton was not worth his contract last season even though it was merely a league minimum deal. It did not work out in 2024 and hopefully the Steelers are wiser than to bring Sutton back in 2025.
Make sure you check back each day for another set of exit interviews. If you have missed any of the previous articles, they are listed here:
Troy Fautanu & Broderick Jones
Zach Frazier & Ryan McCollum
Roman Wilson & Van Jefferson
Payton Wilson & Patrick Queen
Mason McCormick & James Daniels
Logan Lee & Isaiahh Loudermilk
Ryan Watts & Damontae Kazee
Joey Porter Jr. & James Pierre
Keeanu Benton & Montravius Adams
Darnell Washington & Pat Freiermuth
Nick Herbig & Jeremiah Moon
Cory Trice Jr. & Donte Jackson
Spencer Anderson & Calvin Anderson
Larry Ogunjobi & Preston Smith
Having just done a deep dive on PIT’s coverages this past year, I believe they need an upgrade from both.
Sutton doesn’t have much left in the tank, and appeared to be the culprit on several of their big coverage busts down the stretch. Bishop is a nice story but also an undrafted free agent for a reason. Offenses started to pick on him the more he saw the field. I assume the Steelers will prioritize an outside corner to replace Jackson. Bishop has a place on this team, but they need to give serious consideration to finding an upgrade in the slot, too.
It’s definitely an upgradable position. I don’t even want Sutton in the mix. I think Bishop should be, but relying on him as the only option would not be wise either.
I would much rather watch Beanie Bishop get beat play after play than watch Cam Sutton so much as pull a Steelers’ jersey on his back. Shame on the team for this.
It’s well known that people who commit certain crimes, like those against children, are often treated differently by other inmates during incarceration. Is it a stretch to think that this dynamic would occur on a football team as well?
Cam Sutton beat his spouse senseless and was prosecuted for it. It’s possible that other players never wanted to be around the guy. Heck, I wouldn’t want to interact with anyone that I knew did such a thing. There might be more to the “Cam Sutton can’t get it right” refrain from players that involved more than just his play.
Shame on the Steelers for bringing Sutton back. The “Steeler Way”, what a joke.