The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Monday uncertain when Joey Porter Jr. would next play in a game. The cornerback was put on the inactive list before the Steelers' 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Porter was listed as questionable to play the Falcons on Friday's injury report due to a back injury he had been dealing with since training camp.
Amid the back injury, Porter and the Steelers were in negotiations to give the 2023 second-round pick a contract extension. Now that the regular season has started, Pittsburgh is not in the business of negotiating. More News: Exclusive: Breakout NFL Executives Who Could Become Future General Managers More News: 4 QBs Generating Serious Trade Buzz Weeks Before NFL Regular Season Starts On Monday, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said his concern for Porter is to get the cornerback to ramp up his activity before he's ready to be a full participant at practice.
He noted Porter's situation is somewhat different because of the failed contract negotiations, but he's treating the cornerback like any other player with a legitimate injury. "My concern for Joey, obviously, is to get him to a spot no different than everybody else in training camp," McCarthy said, via ESPN. "The first players that go through that first ramp-up period that are not ready to go -- they don't participate fully in a padded practice.
So I don't really see this any different than that. "Now it is different that there's a business component to it, and that's really a whole 'nother topic. As far as Joey's participation in practice, he's communicating with the trainer every day.
He's communicating with the strength and conditioning coach. ... We'll get him out there when he's ready to go through a full practice." McCarthy anticipates Porter participating more in practice on Wednesday than he did last week. Porter has not publicly revealed that he intends to play for Pittsburgh this season without a new contract.
There's been chatter around the league that the Steelers could trade Porter this season. For now, the Steelers are waiting for Porter to get healthy. For more on the Steelers and the NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.
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