After running with the Pittsburgh Steelers first-team defense Monday, in theory Beanie Bishop should relax ahead of Tuesday’s NFL roster cutdown day.

In theory.

“It’s a very frustrating and anxious time for a lot of people,” Bishop said Monday. “Myself included. Because you never know.”

Any undrafted rookie, indeed, rarely does know if he will make the season-opening active roster — even those who, like Bishop, sit atop the official team depth chart.

Though he seems safe, Bishop joined several others in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex locker room Monday wondering if it might be their final day there. Nine players officially were cut Monday, and a few others probably were tipped off by someone at the facility or via their agents.

Some might even go through Tuesday’s practice. It is scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m. and end at 12:45 p.m. — more than three hours before the leaguewide 4 p.m. deadline for all 32 teams to trim their 90-man preseason rosters down to the 53-man limit for the regular season.

“There might be guys who are here now,” Bishop said Monday, “who won’t be here tomorrow. So we’re really just trying to take it day-by-day and not look too far ahead like (media and fans) all are. Just try to wait it out and see what happens after practice (Tuesday).”

Like Bishop, Darius Rush ran with the starting defensive unit in the secondary Monday. For Rush, though, those first-team reps come with the sizable caveats that Nos. 1 and 3 on the outside cornerback depth chart — Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice — sat out because of injury.

Still, Rush is a returnee from the 2023 Steelers active roster, having spent the final 12 weeks on the 53-man. He played in three games last year, and by all accounts has seemed to have had a good camp and preseason these past six weeks.

“I do feel as if I have put some good film out there,” Rush said, “and hopefully there is just an opportunity for me to compete.”

A fifth-round pick of the Colts last year who spent time on the Chiefs practice squad before signing with the Steelers, Rush knows his most likely role (barring injury) is on special teams. Despite starting his final two seasons at South Carolina, Rush remained a regular contributor on the Gamecocks’ punt, kickoff and field-goal units.

Steelers teammate Dez Fitzpatrick rarely played special teams during a productive college career as a wide receiver at Louisville before the Titans drafted him in the fourth round in 2021. But like Rush, Fitzpatrick recognizes earning a 53-man roster spot will come down to his contributions on special teams.

He had a tackle during a Lions kickoff return during Saturday’s preseason finale in Detroit, in addition to a 59-yard reception that was the longest of any Steelers player during this preseason.

Put together, it might have been enough for Fitzpatrick to stick on the roster as the team’s No. 5 or 6 WR.

“I wouldn’t say I am nervous because I think I put it all on the line,” Fitzpatrick said. “I tried to do everything that I can do — and sometimes that’s enough, and sometimes it’s not. So I am gonna let it go and let God do the rest.

“Coach (Mike Tomlin) says every time we are in the stadium, it’s a huge opportunity for guys like me, guys who are trying to make the team somewhere else or make the team they are on. And I took that to heart. So hopefully I showed them what I could and will be still around.”

Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.