The question might be when, not if, the Pittsburgh Steelers and CB Joey Porter Jr. agree to a contract extension. Contract extensions of this magnitude are tricky and take time. By Week One, both sides might be happy campers; Porter with a life-changing amount of money, the Steelers locking up their top cornerback. Still, a deal lagging into late August or September might have consequences, especially because the season doesn’t begin until the 13th.
Porter might need to knock off rust in a new system that could hinder the start of his potential new deal.
If Pittsburgh’s coaching staff was the same as last season’s, this wouldn’t be nearly as much of an issue. Porter could pick up where he left off, as T.J. Watt did in 2021 and Cam Heyward did last season. He would know the scheme, the coaches would know him, and no one would have to feel anything out or get acclimated to something new. Porter’s conditioning would be the biggest concern in that instance.
This year is different. There’s a new defensive coordinator. New defensive backs coaches. Even as Pittsburgh’s base 3-4 structure doesn’t make major alterations, the biggest adjustments could come in the secondary. In May, the PPG’s Gerry Dulac pointed to the defensive backs as the group making the biggest adjustment. Those particulars remain to be seen, but coverage will be different in both verbiage and structure.
Should Porter hold in, he won’t get those reps and coaches won’t evaluate his fit.
Hold-in or not, losing 2025 DBs Coach Gerald Alexander is a negative. He helped Porter grow his game, reduce penalties, and find the football in the air. Hopefully, Porter can carry those lessons forward, but it would’ve been ideal for him if Alexander stayed.
Porter going all of training camp without taking a single rep is a plausible scenario, given there’s nearly a month between the time training camp wraps and the beginning of the regular season. If that happens, he’s at risk of feeling the impact of it once he hits the field. Mental reps have their place, and Porter watched during the spring and will again during camp. But there’s no substitute for getting out on the grass.
It won’t be a long-term issue, as Porter will settle in. Signing him to a contract is a long-term play where short-term pain is worth it. Porter is also well within his right to hold in until he signs a long-term deal. There’s real risk of an injury before signing his contract, a risk not worth taking. Still, that doesn’t cancel out the negatives of a lengthy hold-in. Rust is natural for any extended absence under these circumstances.
Porter, counted on to be Pittsburgh’s top corner, could get off to a slow start in 2026. Hopefully this isn’t the case with a tough matchup out of the gate against the Atlanta Falcons’ Drake London.
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