The Pittsburgh Football Podcast

By Chris Gates | The Pittsburgh Football Podcast

The Joey Porter Jr. contract situation is officially starting to worry me.

Mike McCarthy was asked about the ongoing negotiations recently and described the Steelers and Porter as being at an “impasse.”

That’s not exactly the word you want to hear.

Obviously, there’s only so much we can take from public comments during contract negotiations.

• The Steelers are trying to negotiate the best possible deal for the organization.
• Porter and his representatives are trying to maximize his value.

Nobody is going to publicly lay all of their cards on the table.

But “impasse” still feels significant.

That doesn’t sound like two sides making progress. It sounds like two sides that are dug into their positions and aren’t particularly close to finding common ground.

And the closer we get to the regular season, the bigger of a problem this becomes.

The Steelers and Porter both appear to be wrong

From everything I’ve seen and heard about these negotiations, the fundamental disagreement seems pretty straightforward.

Porter views himself as one of the very best cornerbacks in the NFL and wants to be compensated accordingly.

We’ve seen cornerback contracts climb into the $35-plus million per year range, and if Porter believes he’s the best corner in football, it makes sense that his asking price would reflect that.

The Steelers don’t appear to view him the same way.

Their valuation seems to be significantly lower, perhaps closer to the range you’d expect for a cornerback who is very good but isn’t necessarily among the two or three best players at his position.

Here’s the problem: I don’t think either side is right.

I don’t think Joey Porter Jr. is the best cornerback in the NFL.

But I also think he’s better than the Steelers appear to be giving him credit for.

To me, Porter absolutely belongs in the conversation as a top-10 cornerback. Maybe you can debate exactly where he falls within that group, but I don’t think the Steelers can reasonably treat him like he’s merely a pretty good player at his position.

That’s what makes this so difficult.

If Porter believes he deserves to be paid like the best cornerback in football and the Steelers are valuing him significantly below that level, we’re not talking about a minor disagreement.

We’re talking about two fundamentally different evaluations of the player.

Finding the middle ground becomes a lot harder when both sides have their heels dug in.

Will Joey Porter Jr. be ready for Week 1?

For the first time, I’m starting to legitimately wonder whether Porter is going to be in uniform when the regular season begins.

The Steelers historically haven’t liked negotiating contracts once the regular season starts.

That puts a pretty obvious deadline on this situation.

And even if the two sides suddenly find common ground and get a contract signed, there’s another issue: Porter hasn’t been practicing.

You can’t necessarily expect him to sign a contract and immediately step onto the field without some type of acclimation period.

That’s why this needs to get resolved.

The regular season is approaching quickly, and the Steelers are unquestionably a better football team when Joey Porter Jr. is on the field.

They’re a better defense with him.

Fortunately, one of the more encouraging developments of training camp has been the performance of Asante Samuel Jr.

Samuel has looked really good, and Jalen Ramsey is getting back into the mix as well. The Steelers’ defensive backfield may actually be deeper than we thought it was heading into camp.

That’s great.

It doesn’t mean they don’t need Porter.

There’s also a reason for Porter to get this done

It’s easy to frame contract negotiations entirely from the team’s perspective.

The Steelers want Porter on the field. Therefore, they need to find a way to get a deal done.

But I think Porter has incentive to find common ground, too.

NFL players only have so many opportunities to sign massive contracts during their careers.

For an elite player, you ideally get two big bites at the apple.

You play out your entry-level contract and sign the massive extension. Then, depending on the length of that deal and how your career progresses, you potentially get another opportunity to negotiate a major contract before age starts working against you.

The longer Porter waits on that first big deal, the further everything gets pushed back.

There’s also the possibility of the franchise tag entering the equation and delaying things even further.

At some point, digging your heels in because you believe you’re the best cornerback in football could actually become counterproductive financially.

That’s another reason I think there’s incentive for both sides to find a number they can live with.

But what if they can’t?

That’s where this conversation gets much more interesting.

Would I trade Joey Porter Jr.?

There have been rumors about teams potentially calling the Steelers about Porter and the possibility of a trade.

I’m skeptical those rumors represent anything substantial.

But let’s entertain the idea anyway.

If the Steelers and Porter truly are this far apart and there’s no realistic path toward an extension, I’d be open to trading him.

Very open.

And it comes back to something I’ve believed about the Steelers for years:

Until you have your long-term franchise quarterback, almost everything should be viewed through the lens of finding one.

I’ve made this same argument about T.J. Watt in the past.

There was a point when Watt was arguably the best defensive player in football and I still would’ve been willing to trade him if another team offered a premium first-round pick that gave the Steelers a legitimate opportunity to find their next franchise quarterback.

Why?

Because we watched the Steelers lose playoff games with T.J. Watt playing at an elite level.

Having the best defensive player in football wasn’t enough to overcome instability at the most important position on the field.

Quarterback changes everything.

And now, with Aaron Rodgers nearing the end of his career, the Steelers are going to need another one.

Draft capital could be incredibly valuable

The upcoming quarterback draft class is expected to have considerably more talent than some of the recent classes, and that’s where a potential Porter trade becomes interesting to me.

If another team were willing to give Pittsburgh a premium draft pick for him, I’d have to seriously consider it.

That doesn’t mean Porter isn’t valuable.

It’s precisely because he’s valuable that the conversation is worth having.

If you don’t believe you’re going to reach a long-term agreement with him anyway, turning that asset into draft capital that could help you move up and select your next franchise quarterback makes sense.

And the emergence of Samuel makes that possibility slightly easier to stomach.

Again, I don’t think the Steelers are actively trying to trade Porter. I don’t think there’s enough evidence to suggest these rumors are anything more than speculation right now.

But if the relationship reaches a point where an extension simply isn’t happening?

I’m listening.

The social media stuff isn’t helping

There’s one other part of modern NFL contract negotiations that drives me crazy.

The cryptic social media posts.

Porter isn’t alone here. Players across the NFL do this whenever they’re unhappy with a contract, frustrated with negotiations or trying to send some type of message.

You get the emojis.

The clocks.

The vague posts everyone is supposed to dissect for hidden meaning.

Maybe I’m just getting old, but it reminds me of AOL Instant Messenger away messages when I was in high school.

Back then, you’d get turned down by a girl and immediately throw some Blink-182 lyrics into your away message so everybody knew exactly how miserable you were.

We’re adults now.

Can we stop doing this?

Imagine if the Steelers’ official social media accounts started cryptically posting emojis about Porter every time contract negotiations hit a snag.

It would look ridiculous.

I’d rather everybody conduct themselves professionally, negotiate the contract and figure it out.

Something has to give

Ultimately, I think the best outcome remains pretty obvious.

Joey Porter Jr. signs a long-term contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

• Porter gets paid like the excellent cornerback he is.
• The Steelers retain one of the most important players on their defense.
• He gets back onto the practice field, and everybody moves forward.

But that requires both sides to adjust their expectations.

Porter may have to accept that he isn’t going to reset the cornerback market.

The Steelers may have to acknowledge that they’re negotiating with a legitimate top-level cornerback and compensate him accordingly.

If neither side is willing to move?

Then Pittsburgh needs to start thinking creatively about what comes next.

Because the regular season is almost here.

The Steelers need Joey Porter Jr. on the field.

And if they can’t get him there, they need to seriously consider what they can get for him instead.