Joey Porter cornerback Steelers
Joey Porter cornerback Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have done well to lock down members of their 2023 draft class, but there’s one domino still remaining. Joey Porter Jr., arguably the most important player in that class, is still waiting for a contract extension as the Steelers prepare for their third and final preseason game.
Porter shined to end the 2025 season and reportedly is “nowhere near” close to a deal with the Steelers. To Ray Fittipaldo, it might be time to look at another avenue in which the Steelers can keep him around past 2026 – the franchise tag.
“This is what Joey Porter has to decide. He has $30 million guaranteed, coming his way next year on the franchise tag, if the Steelers want to tag him. But he has to have the confidence that he can get through this season unscathed,” Fittipaldo said Sunday on the KDKA #1 Cochran Sports Showdown. “So that’s really big for him this year. Tough decision for him, I got a feeling the Steelers are around $27, $28 million a year. And if Joey doesn’t take that, he might have to play this out and look for the tag in March.”
The longer the wait for an extension has gone, the more expensive Porter’s position has become. A few players have reset the market recently. In terms of annual average value, both Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon ($33 million) and Cleveland’s Denzel Ward ($31.1 million) have inked recent deals.
Mike McCarthy spoke before practice on Monday about the status of talks with Porter, who runs on the Active/PUP list.
“I would love the opportunity to coach Joey Porter. I know our defensive guys would love the opportunity. So we’re at an impasse right here and you got to respect that. Everyone of us has a contract, the organization, they have beliefs and so forth. But yeah, that’s just kind of where we are,” McCarthy said via Brooke Pryor on X.
Mike McCarthy said they’re at an “impasse” with Joey Porter Jr. when asked at what point he needed to see JPJ to be comfortable using him W1.
“Every one of us has a contract. The organization, they have beliefs and so forth. That’s just kind of where we are.”
FULL QUOTE ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jlQnyix6Hy
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 24, 2026
There’s still a couple of weeks until Week 1 rolls around. And, of course, McCarthy is not going to show the Steelers’ hand when talking about ongoing negotiations. While he’s supportive of Porter, it doesn’t exactly sound as if things are close to a resolution.
Porter and New England’s Christian Gonzalez remain the biggest-name corners yet to sign contract extensions. Porter could continue to wait in hopes that Gonzalez resets the market and makes the position even more expensive.
According to Gerry Dulac, the Steelers don’t view Porter as a top-five cornerback. If that’s true, they’re certainly not going to want to pay him close to what those aforementioned three are making. Could the franchise tag be an option? The price could change as time goes on and new extensions are signed. But Over The Cap currently projects the 2027 cornerback franchise tag to come in at $23,119,000.
That is an option the Steelers have. But it’s fair to assume the Porter desires an extension with an AAV of much more than that. Playing under the franchise tag does come with injury risks, and there isn’t any benefit of long-term security for Porter.
There is still time for the two sides to reach an agreement. Pittsburgh won’t take the field for Week 1 until Sept. 13. For now, Fittipaldo thinks the franchise tag could be a possibility.