90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Beanie Bishop Jr., Chris Boswell, Marquez Callaway

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ workouts for the 2024 season ended in mid-June. Next up is the team’s annual training camp, which is scheduled to begin at the end of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Before the Steelers’ training camp begins this summer, we’ll be doing a series of posts, three players at a time, to highlight the team’s 2024 roster.

This Steelers roster preview, which includes projections for each player, is sorted alphabetically by last name for easy tracking. This series is expected to include more than 90 players this year, as the team can use a total of 91 players during the offseason, as only one international player designation is allowed.

The next three players we’ll feature before the Steelers’ 2024 training camp are Beanie Bishop Jr., Chris Boswell and Marquez Callaway.

CB Beanie Bishop Jr.: The Steelers have only signed five undrafted free agents this year. One of them was Bishop, who came from West Virginia by way of Minnesota and Western Kentucky. Not only that, but Bishop also received a $25,000 signing bonus as part of his contract. Although Bishop is a little below average at 5,091 pounds, his college record showed him to be a very physical player. Last season at West Virginia, Bishop recorded 67 total tackles, 20 passes defended and 4 interceptions.

In his five previous college seasons, including four at Western Kentucky, Bishop recorded 79 total tackles, 1 sack, 3 interceptions, 10 passes defensed, and a forced fumble. He played primarily as an outside cornerback throughout his college career, but he also had some snaps in the slot. Bishop also played a fair amount on special teams during his college career, including returning some punts and kickoffs.

Outlook: Bishop’s lack of overall length will likely see him line up as a slot cornerback for the Steelers this summer. However, the Steelers have other slot cornerback candidates on their roster, one of those players being the experienced Cameron Sutton. The fact that Bishop played a lot at the outside position in college at least gives him some positional flexibility.

Additionally, Bishop’s experience on special teams during his college career should help the 53-man roster as a rookie. While it’s not guaranteed that Bishop will make the Steelers’ 53-man roster after the preseason is complete, his chances are still good. Of the five undrafted free agents the Steelers have signed this year, Bishop has the best chance of making the Week 1 roster. He should be fun to watch during training camp and the preseason. It would be great if Bishop ends up being the Steelers’ future starting slot cornerback.

K Chris Boswell: Although Boswell didn’t perform particularly well in 2022, he rebounded in 2023. The Steelers’ kicker since 2015 converted 30 of his 32 field goal attempts in 2023, as well as 29 of his 30 extra point attempts. Boswell converted six of his seven attempts from 50 yards or more. He also averaged a career-high 63.6 yards per kickoff on 76 attempts in 2023, and 55 of those kickoffs resulted in touchbacks. At 32 years old, that was great to see. Unlike 2022, Boswell avoided injuries in 2023, as he played in every game for the Steelers.

Outlook: There are no real concerns about Boswell right now heading into training camp, especially given the way he has rebounded from his rough 2022 season in 2023. If he can stay healthy again, there is no real reason to believe Boswell won’t be reliable, especially from 50 yards or more.

However, Boswell will have a new owner in 2024 in veteran punter Cameron Johnston. Still, the two should be well-rounded by the start of the regular season. It will be interesting to see how the NFL’s new kickoff rule affects Boswell at this stage of his game, as the Steelers obviously don’t want to involve him in too many tackles.

WR Marquez Callaway: The Steelers signed Callaway, a former undrafted free agent out of Tennessee in 2020, to a reserve/futures contract in January. After beginning his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints, Callaway has since played briefly with the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders, but returned to the Saints as a practice squad player in 2023. Callaway appeared in three games with the Saints in 2023, but failed to put up any statistics in the 28 offensive plays he played on the field.

Since entering the NFL, Callaway has played in 45 regular season games and started 17 times. He has caught 83 passes for 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns in his career, as well as returned 14 punts for 149 yards and four kickoffs for 94 yards. In total, Callaway has played 111 special teams snaps. Most of Callaway’s snaps in the NFL have been as an outside wide receiver. He has also played a few times in the slot since entering the NFL.

Outlook: The Steelers have a lot of questions to answer regarding their wide receiver depth chart when they enter training camp this year. They also have a lot of discarded wide receivers with NFL experience fighting for a spot on the roster. Because of that, Callaway should get every chance to make the team’s 53-man roster this summer. The Steelers’ new wide receiver coach, Zach Azzanni, is very familiar with Callaway, as he recruited the player out of Tennessee in 2016.

Still, that familiarity doesn’t guarantee Callaway anything this summer. Callaway has made some big plays since entering the NFL. However, he lacks consistency in his game. To improve his overall game, Callaway will need to significantly improve his special teams skills this summer, as it will surely benefit his roster. The fact that Callaway hasn’t played much in 2023 is a cause for concern, and that means this upcoming training camp with the Steelers could decide his future NFL fate. Overall, it’s probably unlikely that Callaway makes the Steelers’ 53-man roster after training camp. Realistically, he could be competing for a practice squad spot in late summer.