The Steelers’ outdated approach to contract negotiations is not aging well.
With the Steelers and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in a financial standoff and the Steelers clinging to their policy of not doing new deals after the regular season begins, no deal will be done until after the season — unless the dam suddenly breaks this morning.
So will Porter play? Despite the ESPN report that it’s “unlikely” Porter will suit up against the Falcons at 1:00 p.m. ET, some within the organization still believe he’ll blink. Regardless of a contract that pays less than $4 million in 2026, Porter is in a contract year. His best play could be to play and to play well, setting the stage for a shot at the open market in 2027 or, worst-case scenario, the franchise tag. (The fact that the tag at the cornerback position lags behind the top pay at the position makes that outcome even less appealing.)
The alternative is to sit, citing a back problem. It’s what Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons likely planned to do in 2025, absent a new contract. Once the Cowboys realized he was committed to not playing, they traded him.
The latest ESPN report explains that the Steelers are open to listening to offers for Porter. Which is a delicate way of acknowledging that, as we’ve heard multiple times, no one has called.
This isn’t some sudden realization that Porter could be available. He conducted a hold-in throughout training camp and the preseason. If anyone was interested in trading for Porter, they would have called by now.
The problem is that the new team would have to give the Steelers what they want for Porter, and to pay him what he’s seeking. The absence of offers to date says plenty about the willingness of other teams to do that.
Which brings us back to Porter’s primary options: Play for $3.924 million and hope to unlock a much better deal in 2027, or launch a Le’Veon Bell-style strategy (but with pay) — sitting out some if not most if not all games and becoming a free agent next year. (Or getting tagged.)
It’s a tough spot for Porter. But there’s one way to look at the glass as half-full. He was the 32nd pick in the 2023 draft, but he wasn’t a first-rounder. He’s not subject to the fifth-year option; for Year 5, he gets (at worst) franchise-tag money. That puts him ahead of where he would have been, if the Dolphins hadn’t lost their 2023 first-round pick and if Porter had been the 32nd name off the board.
Regardless, Porter has to decide whether to take a stand by sitting out, or to grab his helmet and play. It’s a decision that only Porter can make, and he needs to make it within the next couple of hours.