Chicago Bears Signing of Beanie Bishop Breakdown

Between the injuries the Chicago Bears have suffered in the secondary, such as Kyler Gordon and Coby Bryant, they chose to sign Beanie Bishop.

Bears Communications posted on X (August 9th) that, “The #Bears have signed DB Beanie Bishop and waived LS Luke Elkin.”

This comes after the Bears brought in Xavier Woods back on August 7th because Bears Communications posted on X, “The #Bears have signed DB Xavier Woods and placed DB Dallis Flowers on Reserve/Injured.”

While Woods is listed as a safety on ESPN and is a veteran presence at 31 years old, Bishop is a cornerback who’s a bit younger at 26. 

However, one thing to keep in mind about Bishop comes from Mark Carman on X:

“DB Beanie Bishop -- who the Bears signed today -- is suspended for the first 3 games of the season for undisclosed reasons. He was most recently with the Saints.” 

With that in mind, this is a very interesting signing because you would think the Bears would want someone to add depth to this roster right now. However, given the fact that Bishop is fairly young, put up great stats in 2024, and there’s uncertainty in this secondary, it's understandable why Chicago made this move.

Beanie Bishop Career Production

As Carman noted above, the last team Bishop was with is the New Orleans Saints, but the only stats he has are with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. 

That year Bishop played 17 games, starting in six for Pittsburgh. Over that span, Bishop had four interceptions, seven passes defended, and 45 tackles. However, Bishop would have some underwhelming PFF numbers. 

Bishop had an opposing passer rating of 84, 41 receptions allowed, and 10.7 yards per reception allowed. On top of that, Bishop had a coverage grade of 55.2, which ranked 99th among 117 cornerbacks, a 55.8 run defense grade that ranked 93rd, and a pass rush grade of 60.2, ranking 39th.

With that all in mind, Bishop had an overall grade of 53.9, ranking 101st, which helps add some context to why he’s no longer with the team despite his four interceptions.

At the same time, interceptions are tough to come by in the NFL. With Bishop still being 26 years old and the Bears lacking cornerback depth, the move makes a lot of sense.