Steelers Rookie Admits He Told Team a Lie to Pressure Them Into Signing Him

Fake it 'til you make it.

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. after an interception against the New York Giants on Oct 28, 2024. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Sometimes you just have to fake it 'til you make it.

During an appearance on his teammate's podcast, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Beanie Bishop revealed how he told the Pittsburgh front office a white lie or two to generate some interest in signing him.

Bishop, who ultimately went undrafted out of West Virginia, knew he had limited opportunities to make a splash with an NFL team. He spent some time with the Washington Commanders, but Pittsburgh was the only team to bring him in for an official top 30 visit. At the time, he had a feeling he would either be drafted late or not at all, so he spiced up his lore just a touch.

To make it seem like other teams were interested in him, "I told 'em, I'm like, 'Yo, I got the Ravens lined up, I got the Browns lined up [for visits],'" Bishop told Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz on his podcast. "But I didn't have nothing lined up. I was lying, bro. Because at the end of the day, you've got to sell yourself.

"All these other teams are asking, 'Oh yeah, who have you talked to?' I'm like ... 'Bro everybody in your division! I talked to 'em! And you're the last team I actually talked to!'" he continued with a laugh.

Bishop said the team probably doesn't know about his little trick, but it doesn't matter much now, since it all worked out, anyway; the cornerback signed with the Steelers as a priority free agent not long after the 2024 draft. So far this season he has 44 tackles, three interceptions, half a sack, and six passes defended.

"You gotta finesse your way into it sometimes," the rookie said. "You gotta sell yourself a little bit."

Great advice for us all.

Watch the full clip below (starting at 40:56):

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