Joey Porter Jr. Steelers
It’s been a busy offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers, one in which they hired a new head coach for the first time in 20 years and brought in more than 30 new players.
Under GM Omar Khan, the Steelers also extended kicker Chris Boswell, outside linebacker Nick Herbig, tight end Darnell Washington and defensive lineman Keeanu Benton’s contracts, locking up key players long term.
But they find themselves in a contract stalemate with fourth-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who looks like a foundational building block for the Black and Gold. In an offseason featuring a number of moves, it’s the one that they haven’t made that is leading to plenty of criticism as the regular season draws near.
“It’s interesting because Herbig, Washington, Benton would’ve signed tomorrow. You didn’t have to sign him them so early. And no one wants to think about it, but just for the public opinion and the optics of it, go for JPJ first,” former NFL GM Doug Whaley said Wednesday on 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “And maybe that lessens the tension in the negotiations. So they’ve put themselves in this position. …That’s where you start. So that’s how the dominoes fell, and it put the Steelers…backed them into the corner of what they are now, where they are now.”
It’s hard to disagree with Whaley here. Porter was the big piece of the puzzle that the Steelers had to figure out long-term this offseason. Sure, extending Herbig, Washington and Benton before the start of the season and not risking coming out of 2026 needing to pay them more than market value is a good thing.
But the Steelers now have a key starter at a pivotal position who isn’t practicing, and there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight with their Sept. 13 regular-season opener against the visiting Atlanta Falcons rapidly approaching.
Things are getting loud surrounding Porter. Reports from NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo indicate Porter wants to be the highest-paid cornerback in football, something that Porter has never publicly said. Those same reports indicate the Steelers haven’t even made an offer to him yet and that they want to see him on the field first before kickstarting negotiations.
Teammates are publicly backing Porter, and it’s putting the franchise in the crosshairs.
It’s easy to say in hindsight that Porter should have been the priority, and in this case, it seems like that’s how the Steelers should have conducted business, getting something done with Porter before the cornerback market exploded at the start of training camp.