According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, while the Steelers are planning for CB Joey Porter Jr. to make his return in Week 3 against the Bengals, other sources aren’t so positive.
One told Schefter that Porter’s back has “flared up when he’s tried to go full speed, and they haven’t been able to get it where it needs to be.”
He adds Porter is considering getting a second opinion. Meanwhile, a Steelers source told Schefter they think Porter is “fired up about playing against Cincinnati” and their star receiver duo.
The backdrop for all of this is the lack of progress between the Steelers and Porter on a new contract, and it remains possible that a trade becomes the only way to resolve this standoff.
Porter started training camp on the PUP list with a back injury with his contract in limbo. He was activated from the list late in training camp and started ramping up, and the back was removed from his injury designation earlier this week.
However, Porter exited practice the following day, citing his back, and was ruled out from playing in Week 2.
The Steelers have a policy of not negotiating long-term deals during the season and that deadline has obviously passed. Negotiations between the two parties also weren’t particularly close during the preseason.
Another issue is that so far there hasn’t been much of a trade market for Porter, at least not at the compensation the Steelers would be seeking.
We took a look at three potential trade suitors for Porter in recent weeks.
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 as the news is available.
Follow NFL Trade Rumors on X.com and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
