Joey Porter Jr
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Joey Porter Jr. feels he is unfairly criticized for penalties.
Joey Porter Jr. feels he is being unfairly critiqued for one particular facet of his game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback spoke about why he feels he’s a top-5 NFL cornerback and why he feels his penalties are held against him.
Porter earned the 36th-best ranking (67.6) out of 114 eligible cornerbacks by Pro-Football Focus in 2025. He only has three career interceptions, one in each of his three NFL seasons, and had 14 passes defended, one sack and 52 tackles in 14 games in 2025.
The 2023 second-round pick does not have a fifth-year option, which means he is eligible for a contract extension this summer.
Joey Porter Jr Feels Unfairly Treated for Penalties
Porter has led the Steelers in pass-interference penalties every season since he joined the NFL from Penn State. Despite his standout season in 2025, Porter finished tied for third in the NFL in PI calls (6) and was flagged nine times (T29th in the NFL)
Yet, Porter feels the criticisms about his penalties are unjustified.
”That’s what people really harp on my game about, is the PI’s and penalties,” Porter said on the Blueprint podcast. “But it’s like, you hold no other DB under that microscope or grade them under just — I haven’t gave up a touchdown in three years. Not one.”
To Porter’s point, he has only given up one career touchdown and allowed a 48.5% completion mark in 2025. He only gave up 10.4 yards per reception, while playing 94% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps, and lining up against elite wideouts.
“No wide receiver put over 50, 60 yards on my head alone, and I travel with the best of them,” Porter said. “And they want to talk about penalties. Even to bring up penalties this year. I had five, which equaled out to 50-something yards. You’re saying I’m not top-five because I had 50 yards in penalties? Like that’s crazy.”
Analyzing Joey Porter Jr.’s Next Contract
The Steelers are unlikely to let Porter walk in free agency, since he has become a major player for their defense.
But they are also at a disadvantage, since the Steelers already have one of the highest-paid defensive backs on their roster in safety Jalen Ramsey.
But Porter is going to get a huge raise after playing on his initial four-year, $9.6 million contract. He may end up making twice that annually based on the deals signed by comparable players this offseason, which would likely make Ramsey a salary-cap casualty.
Paulson Adebo (New York Giants) and Charvarius Ward (Indianapolis Colts) each signed three-year contracts worth $18 million annually last offseason, which likely constitutes the floor for a Porter extension.
The Steelers will not have to pay the same premium that those teams did because Porter isn’t a free agent, but Porter is much better than both.
DaRon Bland of the Dallas Cowboys signed a four-year contract worth $22.5 million per season last August. Porter’s agents at Athletes First could point to the Steelers cornerback has more interceptions (2) than Bland over the past two seasons, even though Bland missed 12 games in 2024.
So a four-year contract worth $80-$90 million with about $50 million guaranteed is a reasonable guess for Porter’s next contract.