Mike McCarthy On Joey Porter Jr.: ‘We’re At An Impasse’

Last week, it was reported that several teams are monitoring Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. as a potential trade candidate, as he’s in line for a significant extension entering the final year of his rookie deal.

Speaking at before practice on Monday, Steelers HC Mike McCarthy gave an update on where things stand with Porter. McCarthy understands the business part of the game with all of his experience and was clear he would love to coach Porter. However, he admitted they are at an impasse at the moment.

“I learned this in my early years as a head coach, you have to separate the business and football,” McCarthy said, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “Sometimes it’s easier in others. This is a challenge for both Joey and us because we’re first-year staff. We’ve seen them play, compete against Joey.”

“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. Every one of us has a contract. The organization, they have beliefs and so forth. But yeah, that’s just kind of where we are.”

Porter is currently on the PUP list after aggravating a back injury on the first day of training camp. He was in attendance for some of OTAs and mandatory minicamp but didn’t participate in any team drills that were open to the media.

Pryor also mentioned the team has not made or received calls with Porter despite recent speculation. She said the team made the season opener a self-imposed deadline to get a deal done with Porter.

Porter, 26, is the son of longtime NFL OLB Joey Porter and was a three-year starter at Penn State, earning third-team All-Big 10 honors for two years and first-team honors his final season. 

The Steelers selected Porter with the first pick of the second round in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s entering the final year of a four-year, $9,618,343 rookie contract that included a $3,995,158 signing bonus and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2027.  

In 2025, Porter appeared in 14 games for the Steelers and recorded 52 total tackles, one sack, one interception and 14 pass deflections. 

We’ll have more on Porter and the Steelers as the news is available.