A major contract extension for Joey Porter Jr. feels inevitable, but is his value capped by his lack of producing splash plays? Through three seasons, he has only recorded three interceptions, precisely one per season. Given that interceptions are one of the core functions of a cornerback, how valuable is one pick per year?
Brian Batko believes that narrative should at least be put to the question. Obviously, cornerbacks don’t see an equal number of opportunities to record interceptions. And the quality of those opportunities will vary widely. Just because Joey Porter isn’t putting up big numbers in that regard doesn’t automatically means he’s underperforming.
“For the record, Sauce Gardner has three career interceptions”, Batko pointed out on the Steelers Standard on Steelers Nation Radio. “I’m just asking questions about evaluating corners and what to make of some of these guys and their quote-unquote worth on the open market. Because I guarantee you, the people who are anti-huge-money-Joey-Porter-Jr. extension, $25-30 million tax bracket, they’re gonna point to, he doesn’t make that many plays. He has three picks over his entire career”.
“You just have to watch the film and make your mind up that way”.
Of the three cornerbacks making $30 million or more per season, only one is a high-interception player. That would be Derek Stingley Jr., who has 15 over four seasons. After recording one as a rookie, he has at least four in his three seasons since. But four-year veteran Trent McDuffie has three, as does Sauce Gardner in the same timeframe, as Batko mentioned. Porter has the same number of interceptions as two of the three highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL in less time.
Of course, not recording interceptions doesn’t boost your resume, either. And I don’t think many people would argue that Joey Porter Jr. is as good as Sauce Gardner or Derek Stingley. But he is the next upper-tier cornerback due for a contract, and the market only moves in one direction. At least, it hasn’t moved in the opposite direction, barring a pandemic of lockout, in a very long time. The NFL likes to make money, and that means the players make more money.
The Steelers drafted Joey Porter in the second round in 2023. Since then, he has started 41 of 47 games, recording 3 interceptions and 31 passes defensed. In 14 games in 2025, he recorded a career-high 14 passes defensed. Some of those are failed interception opportunities, granted, but he still made the play.
At (soon to be) 26 years old, Porter is certainly one of the better young cornerbacks in the NFL. He’s clearly the Steelers’ best cornerback, and the best one they’ve drafted since Ike Taylor. And Taylor wasn’t exactly known for racking up the interceptions, either. But that won’t stop the Steelers’ front office from noting his lack of turnovers during negotiations, as is their prerogative.
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