The Pittsburgh Steelers and Joey Porter Jr. do not appear close in contract negotiations, which isn't a good sign for the star cornerback's playing status come Week 1. Officially, Porter Jr. has been named inactive to open the season against the Atlanta Falcons, which should come as a major surprise. Porter Jr. barely practiced in training camp as the rest of the Steelers defense learned Patrick Graham's system. When JPJ does sign — or is willing to play before the ink is dry — there will be a learning curve. We also do not know if he is in game shape.
Porter Jr.'s contract negotiations have been frustrating on a number of fronts. First, the Steelers signed a number of players from his very draft class to extensions this summer. Second, Porter Jr. and the Steelers seemingly have a great relationship off the gridiron. Why is this taking so long?
Steelers inactives and injury report with Joey Porter Jr. on it
The Steelers full injury report is actually rather simple. Throughout the week, Porter Jr. was questionable, up until gameday. Porter Jr. was officially diagnosed with a back injury. That, mixed with his ongoing contract drama, was enough to keep him out on Sunday afternoon. He is also the only Steelers player on the injury report for Week 1.
Player | Injury | Status |
|---|---|---|
Joey Porter Jr. | Back | Inactive |
The rest of the roster, if Mike McCarthy is to be believed, is ready to go. That makes missing a player of Porter Jr.'s stature a little easier to deal with.
Steelers depth chart with Joey Porter Jr. out
Without Porter Jr., the Steelers will rely heavily on Asante Samuel Jr., who was arguably the Steelers best defensive player during training camp in Latrobe. Samuel Jr., who was once one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL prior to a debilitating injury, has a lot to prove with Porter Jr. out. As JPJ chases top CB money, Samuel Jr. is playing on a one-year, $4 million contract. He is also just 27 years old, and could be in line for a raise this offseason if he outperforms his deal.
Position | Player |
|---|---|
CB1 | Jamel Dean |
CB2 | Asante Samuel Jr. |
CB3 | Jalen Ramsey |
CB4 | Brandin Echols |
CB5 | Daylen Everette |
Where are Joey Porter Jr. and the Steelers on negotiations?
Neither the Steelers nor Porter have budged as they discuss numbers, as evidenced by, well, the fact that he hasn't put pen to paper on anything yet.
"I don't necessarily think there's an easy resolution here," ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler said of the contract saga on Pittsburgh's 93.7 The Fan on Tuesday night. "(There's) an artificial deadline. Deadlines do spur some action, as we just saw with New England, right? They were two days from kickoff, they got a deal done with Christian Gonzalez. Now you're looking at all these cornerbacks making 30-plus million dollars a year. The Steelers have to prove, at least to me, that they see Joey Porter as either that or close to that, or $30 million adjacent. So far, their messaging has been that they don't."
Steelers mainstay Cam Heyward was the latest teammate to weigh in on Porter's contract situation, after practice on Wednesday. Fellow coverman Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Patrick Queen have also both voiced support for Porter since the team returned from training camp.
“I’d like for everybody to get paid, and I’d like for everybody to be taken care of,” Heyward said, per Steelers Now. “I’m not gonna act like I have every answer to a negotiation. As a player, selfishly, I’d like everything to be done so we can focus and just continue to be locked in, but guys gotta get their business done, and that’s part of the game. And you don’t run from that.”
Last year around this time, Heyward had to wait until the buzzer to get his contract restructured, agreeing on the night before the Steelers visited the New York Jets for their Week 1 matchup. He added that the situation hasn't had an effect on the locker room — especially with how many leaders are within it — and pushed back against the franchise tag, which the Steelers could use to keep control of Porter, for $23.1 million guaranteed, next campaign.
To answer the question you clicked on, it appears to be a maybe that Porter pulls on his black No. 24 jersey, helmet and shoulder pads on Sunday afternoon. It also seems that the Steelers themselves don't know what the second-generation star is going to do.
Porter obviously wants to be paid in the same sort of ballpark as New England's Gonzalez and Seattle's Devon Witherspoon. Things could certainly get interesting if something isn't done soon.
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