The Pittsburgh Football Podcast

By Chris Gates | The Pittsburgh Football Podcast

This isn’t how the Joey Porter Jr. story was supposed to go.

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Porter, developed him into one of the better young cornerbacks in the NFL and seemingly found a player who could become a cornerstone of their defense for years.

Ideally, the next step would be obvious.

1. Pay him.
2. Keep him.
3. Let him spend the prime of his career in Pittsburgh.

But we’re quickly reaching the point where that might no longer be realistic.

Porter didn’t sign a contract extension before the beginning of the 2026 regular season. He didn’t play in the Steelers’ 20-13 Week 1 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. And with Pittsburgh traditionally refusing to negotiate contracts once the regular season begins, we’re left wondering exactly where this relationship goes from here.

If Porter returns to the lineup, plays out the season and all of this eventually gets resolved, great.

But if this turns into an extended holdout or Porter truly wants to be traded?

The Steelers should trade him.

This Isn’t About Porter Not Being Good Enough

Let’s make something clear before going any further.

Joey Porter Jr. is a really good football player.

That’s actually the entire reason this conversation is worth having.

If Porter weren’t valuable, there wouldn’t be much of a trade market for him. Pittsburgh wouldn’t have any leverage, and moving him wouldn’t accomplish much.

But Porter is young, talented and plays a premium position. If another organization believes he’s worth a major contract, there’s a reasonable chance that team would also be willing to give Pittsburgh significant draft capital to acquire him.

That’s where this becomes interesting.

The question isn’t whether the Steelers are better with Porter than without him.

Of course they are.

The question is whether keeping a disgruntled cornerback who may not be part of the franchise’s long-term plans is more valuable than turning him into an asset that could help Pittsburgh solve a much bigger problem.

The Steelers Still Don’t Have Their Franchise Quarterback

Everything about this conversation eventually comes back to quarterback.

Aaron Rodgers is not Pittsburgh’s long-term answer.

Neither is the rest of the current quarterback room, in my opinion.

Maybe one of Pittsburgh’s younger quarterbacks develops into something more than expected. I’d love to be wrong.

But the Steelers can’t build their future around hoping that happens.

Until Pittsburgh finds its next legitimate franchise quarterback, the organization should be relentlessly pursuing one.

That’s the position that changes everything.

An elite cornerback can transform a defense. An elite pass rusher can wreck games. We just watched T.J. Watt essentially take over Pittsburgh’s season opener against Atlanta.

But none of those positions influences the trajectory of an NFL franchise like quarterback.

And if Porter isn’t going to be part of Pittsburgh’s future anyway, the Steelers should seriously consider whether his current value can help them acquire the player who will be.

A First-Round Pick Changes the Conversation

This is where my opinion becomes pretty straightforward.

If another team is willing to give the Steelers a first-round pick for Joey Porter Jr., I’m listening.

And there’s a good chance I’m taking it.

The 2027 NFL Draft is expected to offer Pittsburgh another opportunity to pursue a quarterback. Having an additional first-round selection would give the Steelers considerably more flexibility to do that.

Maybe Pittsburgh’s own selection ends up high enough to draft the quarterback it wants.

Maybe it doesn’t.

If it doesn’t, an additional first-round pick becomes ammunition.

Two first-round selections give you options. They give you the ability to move around the board. They give you additional capital to package together if there’s a quarterback the Steelers identify as someone capable of becoming the face of the franchise.

There’s no guarantee it works.

Drafting quarterbacks is difficult. Teams miss on them every year.

But eventually the Steelers have to take those swings.

And they have to keep taking them until they find the guy.

Pittsburgh Shouldn’t Want to Trade Players Like Porter

There is another side to this that bothers me.

The Steelers shouldn’t want this outcome.

A healthy NFL organization should be able to draft talented players, develop them and retain them when they’ve earned a second contract.

Porter should be an example of that process working.

Instead, he could become another example of a concerning recent trend in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers have spent significant draft capital on players who ultimately haven’t become long-term pieces of the organization. Broderick Jones, a former first-round selection, was traded to Dallas before this season even began.

Now we’re talking about potentially moving Porter after successfully developing him into exactly what Pittsburgh hoped he could become.

At some point, that’s an organizational issue worth examining.

You can’t perpetually invest premium draft picks in players, spend years developing them and then watch them leave.

That’s not sustainable roster building.

So my preference isn’t for the Steelers to trade Porter.

My preference is for the Steelers and Porter to have found a contract that worked for both sides and for him to remain in Pittsburgh.

Apparently, they couldn’t.

There’s Clearly a Disconnect

We don’t know exactly what Porter wants financially, and we don’t know exactly what the Steelers have offered.

That’s important.

Without knowing those numbers, it’s impossible to definitively declare that one side is being unreasonable.

Maybe the Steelers are being cheap.

Maybe Porter’s asking price is significantly beyond what Pittsburgh believes he’s worth.

Maybe the truth is somewhere in between.

What we can see is the result.

No extension was reached.

Porter missed Week 1 after spending training camp on the physically unable to perform list and then going through what Mike McCarthy has repeatedly described as a “ramp-up period.”

And McCarthy’s comments following the Atlanta game were particularly interesting.

When asked about Porter’s absence, McCarthy made it clear that the decision not to play him was his.

Maybe I’m reading too much into the delivery, but it certainly sounded like a head coach establishing a standard.

If Porter hasn’t practiced enough, isn’t adequately prepared or isn’t where McCarthy believes he needs to be physically, McCarthy isn’t simply going to put him on the field because he’s one of the team’s most talented players.

We’ll see whether that changes.

But the longer Porter remains out of the lineup, the harder it becomes to believe this is simply a normal ramp-up process.

Don’t Let This Become a Season-Long Distraction

That’s ultimately where Pittsburgh has to draw the line.

If Porter returns, plays and helps this defense compete, then there’s no reason the Steelers need to rush into anything.

Let the season play out.

But if this becomes a prolonged standoff, there’s very little benefit in allowing it to hang over the organization for months.

If Porter doesn’t want to play under his current contract and Pittsburgh isn’t willing to give him the contract he wants, then find the team that is.

• Create a market.
• Maximize the return.
• And move forward.

Porter’s value is high right now. He’s young. He’s proven he can play. There should be teams around the NFL interested in acquiring a cornerback of his caliber.

If one of them is willing to offer Pittsburgh premium draft capital, the Steelers need to seriously consider it.

The Steelers Have to Think Bigger

Trading Joey Porter Jr. would make the Steelers worse at cornerback.

That’s undeniable.

And I’ll be honest, I’m really high on Asante Samuel Jr. I think his emergence is making this situation a little bit easier to stomach.

But the Steelers are still searching for the most important player on their roster.

Until they find their next franchise quarterback, everything else is secondary.

If Porter wants to remain in Pittsburgh and the two sides can eventually repair this relationship, that’s the outcome I’d prefer.

1. Draft him.
2. Develop him.
3. Pay him.
4. Keep him.

That’s how this is supposed to work.

But if that possibility is gone, Pittsburgh shouldn’t cling to Porter simply because losing a talented player feels uncomfortable.

Turn the asset into another asset.

And if someone puts a first-round pick on the table, take it.

Then use every resource available to do what this organization has been trying to accomplish since Ben Roethlisberger retired:

Find the next franchise quarterback.