Player: CB Daryl Porter Jr.
Stock Value: Purchased
Reasoning: After a brief half-year detour, Daryl Porter Jr. is back in Pittsburgh, though he’s naturally a longshot for the roster. A 2025 rookie free agent, he spent most of the year on the practice squad. After playing one game as an elevation, however, the team waived him. He spent most of the remaining time in Buffalo before his recent release.
For a former college free agent, Daryl Porter Jr. hasn’t spent much time unemployed. At least not once he signed with the Steelers during training camp in August. Nobody signed him out of Miami following the draft, biding his time. But he made an impression in Latrobe, earning a spot on the practice squad.
It was a good enough impression that he remained on the practice squad for most of the year. Late in the season, amid injuries, the Steelers elevated Porter to the active roster for one game in December. He played four snaps, including one on defense, but later Pittsburgh waived him. Days later, he signed with the Bills, who continued to employ him until earlier this month.
While the Steelers didn’t claim him off waivers from Buffalo, they did recently sign him. He’s now a part of the 90-man roster, but he has a new defense to learn. The Steelers, of course, turned over their coaching staff since last season, including the defensive backs coaches. Former DC Teryl Austin was a fan of Porter’s, but somebody here liked him enough to remember him and bring him back.
Not that there’s likely to be room on the 53-man roster or anything like that. The Steelers already have Joey Porter Jr. (no relation), Jamel Dean, Asante Samuel Jr., Daylen Everette, Brandin Echols, Jalen Ramsey, DeShon Elliot, Jaquan Brisker, and Darnell Savage. You can expand that to Sebastian Castro, Robert Spears-Jennings, and Donte Kent. Even D’Shawn Jamison would be in the mix for a spot on the practice squad.
But all a player in Porter’s position can ask for is a chance, and now he has one. He already knows he’s made the practice squad with the Steelers, so he can do it again.
With the 2026 offseason well underway and many moves made, we have stock to take. Already promisinga year of change, the Steelers are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation has fundamentally changed this football team, including the players on the roster.
After a long season, the Steelers showed the ability to win the division and make the playoffs. But they also showed that their progress was minimal,since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the AFC North. But it didn’t help.
Recommended for you