The Pittsburgh Steelers completed their practice squad Wednesday with the signing of undrafted safety Bishop Fitzgerald.
“Fitzgerald played his final season of college football at USC where he earned first-team All-America honors and led the Big Ten in interception with five, while being ranked second nationally,” wrote Steelers.com’s Teresa Varley. “Fitzgerald also spent two seasons at North Carolina and started his college career at Coffeyville Community College.”
After going unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft, Fitzgerald signed with the Tennessee Titans. He didn’t make the team’s roster on cutdown day on August 30.
Before he went undrafted, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein gave him a fifth-round projection. During the NFL Draft process, Zierlein raved about Fitzgerald’s playmaking ability and versatility.
“Compact, ballhawking safety prospect with alignment versatility,” Zierlein wrote. “Fitzgerald’s consistency of execution is quite different in coverage versus run support. In coverage, he is assignment-oriented, displaying an adequate mix of route balance and response quickness.
“He’s clear-eyed to recognize takeaway opportunities and has the ball skills to flip the field. He can match underneath but might not have the speed to stay in-phase if the route travels deep.
“As a run defender, Fitzgerald plays with urgency but issues diagnosing the play and suspect pursuit angles have led to chunk runs, creating an imbalance that affects his draft grade.”
On Monday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the Steelers planned to sign safety Juanyeh Thomas to their practice squad. With one practice squad spot left after Tuesday’s signings, pundits theorized the last spot would be for Thomas.
Instead, the Steelers are adding the undrafted safety.
Steelers Sign Safety Bishop Fitzgerald to Practice Squad
The Steelers did indeed go with a safety to fill their final practice squad opening. In Fitzgerald, the team landed an intriguing rookie prospect who at least Zierlein saw as undervalued during the draft.
Fitzgerald played at USC and NC State after beginning his career at the community college level. Fitzpatrick posted 51 combined tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss with three pass defenses and five interceptions last season.
Behind those five picks, Fitzgerald made the All-American team in 2025 at USC. Over his career at the FBS level, he had 10 interceptions in 36 games.
According to the Pro Football Focus player grades, Fitzgerald performed fairly well for the Titans during the 2026 preseason. Based on the PFF grades, Fitzgerald did particularly well in tackling.
He played a total of 71 snaps across the three exhibition contests.
Steelers Initial Practice Squad Complete
Fitzgerald will join a group of three other defensive backs on the Steelers practice squad. On Monday, the Steelers signed Doneiko Slaughter and Sebastian Castro as part of a 13-player group to the practice squad. Then on Tuesday, the team added defensive back Car’lin Vigers.
Slaughter and Castro spent 2026 training camp with the Steelers. Like Vigers, Fitzgerald has never been with Pittsburgh.
The Steelers now have 17 practice squad players, one of which is exempt from counting toward a spot, Julius Welscof, because of his participation in the international program.
Of those 17 players, nine are defenders and eight are offensive players.
Steelers Announce Adding ‘Ballhawking’ Versatile Safety