Coming off a dominant 2025 season in which he established himself as a true shutdown NFL cornerback, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. finds himself in position to land a major contract extension this offseason.
He’s entering the final year of his rookie contract, and with a new defensive coordinator in Patrick Graham overseeing things, Porter’s contract is one of the most important pieces of business to take care of this offseason.
On the latest episode of the Deebo & Joe Show podcast, former Steelers cornerback Joe Haden said Porter needs to be taken care of by the Steelers.
“Joey Porter Jr. is going to be the first person that gets the bag,” Haden said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “He’s homegrown, he’s drafted from the Steelers, and he’s done nothing but get better every single season. And he’s a dog. He wants to get better.
“We was getting on him about his holding or whatever. He was not holding [this year], didn’t give up any touchdowns. He’s been balling.”
Porter had a terrific 2025 season. He cleaned up the penalty issues and let his play do the talking.
According to Pro Football Focus, Porter was called for just nine penalties last season, down from the 15 in 2024. Also, Porter allowed only 29 receptions on 60 targets for 299 yards. No wide receiver scored a touchdown against Porter last season, and he had one interception and 11 pass breakups.
From Week 10 to the Steelers’ AFC Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans — a span of eight weeks — Porter allowed just 15 receptions on 37 targets. That includes just three receptions allowed on seven targets in the playoff loss.
Though the interceptions aren’t there just yet, Porter has taken away some of the best receivers in the game. He had the big stop at the goal line against Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown to win the game in Week 16 against the Lions, and he had the key pass breakup in the end zone to beat the Ravens in Week 14 on tight end Isaiah Likely.
He’s learned how to still be physical and get his hands on receivers to disrupt timing without grabbing them and drawing flags. Now, ahead of Year 4, Porter should get a big extension from the franchise, locking him in as a key piece defensively now and into the future.
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