Steelers' Teryl Austin Implies That Beanie Bishop May Have Somewhat Severe Injury

The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to find out exactly who will make the 53-man roster, as well as where everyone will be on the depth chart. The slot cornerback position was expected to have an intense battle, especially since an undrafted free agent was likely to take the role for himself without a problem. However, as preseason has gone on, many issues have popped up with the position, and the Steelers may need to look for other options -- and rather quickly. If not, it could be a long season at that particular spot of the defense.

Teryl Austin was asked about how the slot corner battle was going, as well as the process of deciding who will win the spot. He gave a very troubling answer, and panic may be setting in for the front office.

"It’s not hard because there’s nobody there. I mean, it’s easy. Whoever shows up gets it. That’s about where we are right now. [Thomas Graham]'s, knock on wood, been able to stay up and stay healthy, and everyone else has been kind of in and out because of injuries. We’ll see how that shakes out. That’s going to go down to the last second, see who's available."

It was previously announced that Beanie Bishop Jr. was left out of the team's preseason Week 2 game against the Buffalo Bills as a precaution. However, with this quote, it sounds like it may be more than just that. The Steelers have been very quiet about the true severity of their players' injuries throughout camp and preseason, except the ones that ended up going on season-ending injured reserve. 

After Josiah Scott surprisingly got released, it seemed like the Steelers were very confident in either Bishop or Grayland Arnold to be a capable starting slot corner. They were having an intense battle all throughout camp, and Arnold even stole the top spot from Bishop after the first preseason game. The battle was expected to go all throughout the preseason up until roster cutdown day. 

Steelers Get Hit With Injury Bug

On the last day of training camp, Arnold suffered a season-ending injury, which pushed Bishop right back to the top of the depth chart. He would be the unquestioned starter throughout the season at slot corner. He was expected to take it from everyone, but he seemingly earned it by default. Even with being held out as a precaution, he's still fine, right?

With Austin talking about the injury bug, he may not be completely fine. He talked about how whoever shows up to practice healthy will get the job, and Thomas Graham has been that guy for the Steelers as of late. Depending on how long Bishop will be out for, Graham may have to be the starting slot corner until the Steelers can find some more competition, preferably with guys that can stay healthy. 

It doesn't help that the team also released Anthony Averett after a disappointing set of games during the preseason. Cameron Sutton will eventually be able to help out in that position, but he has been suspended for the first eight games of the season. The Steelers may have to roll with Graham throughout the season. 

DeShon Elliott has taken some reps at slot corner as well, but he may have to get more snaps there as opposed to his natural position at safety if the injury bug keeps attacking the Steelers. At this point, there are probably many options on the table for Austin and the Steelers, as they just hope to have anyone that can play the position stay healthy.

What do you think about Austin talking about injuries hitting the slot corner position hard? Let us know in the comments.

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