PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joey Porter Jr. spent Sunday afternoon milling around the Pittsburgh Steelers sideline in gray sweats.
When he finds his way into his black-and-gold No. 24 jersey remains anyone's guess.
While coach Mike McCarthy described the decision to make his team's best cornerback inactive ahead of a 20-13 season-opening victory over Atlanta as health related after Porter missed most of training camp with a back injury, Porter's teammates hinted his uncertain contract status played a factor.
“We want him here, and we want him to get paid,” linebacker Patrick Queen said. “You know, it’s a tough situation. I support him fully ... Whatever (the reason he didn’t play), we support him regardless.”
The 26-year-old Porter is entering the final season of his rookie deal and has spent recent weeks hoping to iron out an extension before the club's self-imposed Week 1 deadline.
The son of former NFL linebacker Joey Porter Sr. said recently he wasn't sure if he would play if the two sides couldn't reach an agreement, and McCarthy remained cagey on Porter's status ahead of the opener.
That brinksmanship may have carried over to the weekend, with the club deciding Porter wasn't ready to go after listing him as a “limited participant” in practice. He was given a “questionable” designation to play before missing the fourth game of his career.
“The business part of it, that’s not for me to speak on,” McCarthy said. “But yeah, we had a plan for him to go through ramp-up workouts through last week. And that’s really the timeline that we’re just hopefully coming to an end.”
McCarthy added Porter is scheduled to take more snaps in practice this week, opening the door for him to potentially play next Sunday in New England.
While Pittsburgh's defense held up just fine against Atlanta third-string quarterback Cooper Rush, his absence on the field was felt.
“You know, when he gets back to us, he’ll get back to us,” longtime defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. “I feel like Joey’s still going to be a Pittsburgh Steeler long after this. And, hopefully they can just, you know, work that out.”
If they do, it won't be until the offseason at the earliest.
While the Steelers have re-signed several players from his draft class — including edge rusher Nick Herbig and tight end Darnell Washington — they have either been unwilling or unable to come to terms with Porter. The team has a long-standing tradition of not negotiating during the course of the season, meaning the two sides will have to wait until mid-January at the earliest to get something done.
Pittsburgh does have the option of placing the franchise tag on Porter for 2027 if it wants, a tactic it most recently used on former running back Le’Veon Bell in 2017 and 2018. Bell was an All-Pro in 2017 but opted to sit out the following season when the team placed the tag on him again.
The Steelers have largely avoided contract distractions. Porter said during minicamp in the spring that he expected to be paid like one of the top players at his position.
As spring turned to summer and camp began, he tweaked his back during a mobility test spent the majority of the preseason on the physically unable to perform list, though McCarthy said in August the club was at an “impasse” in negotiations with Porter.
That impasse will now carry over to the winter and perhaps longer.
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