Cam Heyward Says What Steelers Fans Are Thinking About Joey Porter Jr.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have just a few days until they take on the Atlanta Falcons to begin their regular season schedule. The organization is eager to begin the 2026 campaign, but one crucial piece of business remains.

The Steelers still have not signed cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to the contract extension he's been seeking all summer long. After he returned to practice, the expectations shifted toward the two sides finalizing a deal.

That expectation became even stronger after top cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gozalez signed market-resetting deal and paved the way for Porter Jr, to get one of his own, With just a few days until kick-off, no deal is in place. The likelihood that Porter Jr. plays on the final year of his rookie deal and possibly a franchise tag in 2027 keeps increasing, but according to defensive leader Cam Heyward, that won't help anything.

He made his feelings perfectly clear speaking to reporters after a recent practice. Heyward criticized the franchise tag and teams using it in negotiations.

"Stupid. It hampers players," he said via ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "Why should any team be able to take advantage of a player for one year? It's used in negotiations and I think between the player options, the franchise tags, the way they control rookies, I think it's kind of backwards."

He then said what every fan is thinking when it comes to Porter's situation - it's time to focus on football.

“I’d like for everybody to get paid, and I’d like for everybody to be taken care of," Heyward said. "I’m not gonna act like I have every answer to a negotiation. As a player, selfishly, I’d like everything to be done so we can focus and just continue to be locked in, but guys gotta get their business done, and that’s part of the game. And you don’t run from that."

Jul 24, 2025; Latrobe, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward (97) participates in drills during training camp at Saint Vincent College. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Heyward Makes a Great Point

Heyward knows a thing or two about negotiations going down to the last minute. It was just last season that he and his representatives sought more money on a deal and threatened to sit out games to accomplish their goal.

The moves created some tension between Heyward and the organization, but they ultimately reworked his deal to add several incentives.

So, he's familiar with where Porter Jr. is now. He's also been around so long that he understands and has seen the impacts of things like the franchise tag. It's become a tool for teams to underpay players while maintaining control and delaying extension talks, rather than a way to bridge young players and their teams as they approached free agency.

How Likely Are Steelers to Tag Porter Jr?

The overwhelming feeling remains the same. The belief is that the Steelers will sign Porter Jr. to a sizeable extension that makes him one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL.

But if no deal is finalized before their Week 1 contest, the two sides will not return to the negotiation table until the next offseason.

That only increases the chances that the Steelers use the franchise tag on Porter Jr. for the 2027 season. If that's the case, the Steelers would love it. They'd save money and have less of a time committment to the star defender, two things the organization is seemingly prioritizing.

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