The deadline for NFL teams to trim their rosters to the final 53-man limit for the regular season has now passed. A number of former Mountaineers suffered from the roster cuts and will have to find new homes, but many were shocked to see one WVU alum find himself joining that list as he was waived late Tuesday afternoon despite a stellar rookie season at the professional level.
Beanie Bishop Jr., who played one season for WVU football in 2023 and was named an All-American for the West Virginia Mountaineers, found himself without a home as he was listed among the final round of roster cuts for the organization. It came as a surprise for many WVU fans and Steelers fans as Bishop clawed his way onto the regular season roster for the organization last season as an undrafted free agent and proceeded to turn many heads as he saw action in all 17 games and tallied 45 tackles, seven pass deflections, and four interceptions. He also racked up seven tackles and two pass deflections in preseason action this year.
The Steelers waived Beanie Bishop Jr.
— Inside The Dome (@inside_the_dome) August 26, 2025
This absolutely sucks. He had a great rookie season where he even picked off Aaron Rodgers. He’s better than James Pierre and Cory Trice, just not in special teams. The Steelers will regret this.
He’s also a WVU legend. pic.twitter.com/qOpR0C094K
Bishop is not the only former Mountaineer within the organization in Pittsburgh looking for a new home after the roster cuts, as his former teammate Doug Nester was waived by the Steelers last week.
With Bishop having yet to complete four seasons in the league, he was waived and not released -- which means his contract will be available for other NFL teams to pick up off the waiver wire. Teams will also be looking to fill 16 additional spots within their organizations to build a practice squad, so Bishop will have opportunities to find a new gig.
Given his exceptional performance as a rookie and his significant game experience, it would not come as a surprise to see Bishop land a new home easier than some other former Mountaineers in a similar position.