Cole Bishop had offseason scope

Bishop appeared to suffer a lower-body injury at the end of Week 13’s win over the Steelers, but didn’t miss any practice time this week. Then, in the second half of Week 14, he was seen repeatedly running in place on the sideline and trying to get loose. Unfortunately for him and the Bills, he was then taken into the locker room. Cam Lewis has come in to replace him, and newly-signed Darnell Savage could potentially step in next week if Bishop has to miss any time.

The Bills selected Bishop in the second round of this year’s draft. Bishop is competing for a starting job in camp after the Bills lost safety Jordan Poyer to the Dolphins and opted not to re-up with veteran Micah Hyde. We don’t know the exact details of Bishop’s injury at this time, but an extended absence could delay him seeing the field as a starter early in the season. We’ll see how quickly he progresses in his recovery, but he’s expected to miss at least a week or two with his injury.

Bishop (6’2/206) transitioned to a hybrid safety/linebacker role in longtime Utah DC Morgan Scalley’s defense upon arriving on campus, logging 204 of his 399 freshman season snaps in the box or off the edge. He thrived right out of the gate, starting the final six games with 54 tackles, 9.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks and five PBU while being named Honorable Mention All-Pac-12. After a true freshman year breakout, he led the Utes with 83 tackles and 12 stuffs, to go with 6.0 TFL and 21 pressures in 2022. Bishop’s 89th% pass rush grade ranked sixth in the Power Five, while his 33 stops ranked second among all P5 safeties, earning Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 status for a second consecutive season. This year he transitioned to playing more free safety and improved his coverage production in the process, allowing a 54% completion rate with just 58 yards after contact allowed for a sparkling 67.8 NFL passer rating when targeted. The Second Team All Pac-12 honoree received a Senior Bowl invite before wowing the onlookers at Lucas Oil Stadium with a blistering 1.53s 10-yard split and 4.45s 40-yard dash, which are both 93rd percentile times for the safety position. Toss in a 39” vertical (91st%) and 10’04” broad jump (80th%) and it’s clear that Bishop verified his athletic tools. Bishop profiles as a downhill breaking safety who had success as both a hybrid linebacker and a single-high safety at various points in his three-year Utah tenure.