The Steelers won’t have Joey Porter Jr. in Week 1 — and it’s unsure if he’ll suit up for the team this season due to a contract standoff.
The star cornerback will miss Sunday’s home against Atlanta with a back injury, according to ESPN, and he’s open to being traded due to the lack of a long-term extension.
Pittsburgh reportedly is willing to trade Porter but has asked for a “premium” draft pick, and there have yet to be serious deals.
Porter Jr. is officially listed as questionable for the home contest against the Falcons but indicated recently that more is at play than the injury.
“I don’t know,” he said about playing with a new deal, per ESPN. “I would have to talk to the guys upstairs and my agents about that one.”
Porter, 26, is entering his fourth season and teams often negotiate long-term deals with young cornerstones around this time.
The sides could not come to an agreement on a deal before the season began and the Steelers reportedly do not negotiate extensions once the campaign begins.
This offseason has featured four cornerbacks receiving deals worth at least $30 million per season — Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon, Denzel Ward and Trent McDuffie — but the Steelers reportedly are not approaching those numbers in their extension talks with Porter.
Pittsburgh has also extended other players recently.
That has created this awkward situation involving a disgruntled star, and ESPN reported that an “early-season trade is possible,” although Porter said he’s willing to remain with the team.
“No, I don’t think so,” Porter said of the standoff affecting his willingness to stay, per ESPN. “I mean, at the end of the day, it’s business, and I know what that is and I got my head straight to understand that.”
Longtime Steeler stalwart Cam Heyward offered support for his young teammate.
“I just told him it’s a process,” Heyward said recently, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He has to understand things are done differently here. Keep your head up, stay involved and stay ready because the worst thing is to not be ready.
“You have to show people you deserve the contract you get.”
Even with Porter missing the game, the Steelers are sizable favorites against a Falcons team starting Cooper Rush due to Tua Tagovailoa being ruled out due to a mid-week oblique injury.
