Steelers Receive Exciting Joey Porter Jr. News

Joey Porter Jr. is taking a step towards playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers after being inactive in the team's Week 1's win over the Atlanta Falcons.

On September 16, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters that Porter Jr. is set to do more than he has in the previous weeks, opening the door for Porter to have his first full day of practice all offseason.

“The plan is to move forward with Joey and see how much more he can do today,” McCarthy said.

Jan 12, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (24) reacts after a play during the second half of an AFC Wild Card Round game against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Plan Coming to Fruition

Porter Jr. was held out of Pittsburgh's season-opening victory by McCarthy as he got back up to speed and continued to recover from a back injury that resulted in him spending the entirety of training camp on the PUP list.

His contract talks, and lack of an agreement, have remained a notable storyline surrounding the team, especially with negotiations being broken off now that the regular season has begun.

During his postgame press conference following the Steelers' win over Atlanta, though, McCarthy stated that Porter Jr. was, "finishing the ramp-up period" and was, "definitely ready to do more," in practice.

On September 14, McCarthy stated that he was hoping to have a strong plan in place this week for Porter Jr.

"Hopefully we'll have a good plan for him on Wednesday, and hopefully we'll do more," McCarthy said. "That's the outlook. So yeah, hopefully we move forward with more volume of work. That would be my anticipation."

McCarthy also noted that he was focused on getting Pittsburgh's No. 1 cornerback, "to get him to a spot no different than everybody else in training camp," and it appears there's tangible progress being made towards getting him back on the field for game action.

Will Porter Jr. Play Against Patriots?

With contract talks now on hold until next offseason, most of the speculation surrounding Porter Jr. in recent days has centered around his viability as a trade candidate and whether or not Pittsburgh would ever move him.

While the possibility of a deal in that sense can't be discounted, the plan sure feels like it is for Porter Jr. to suit up and play rather than placing him on the back, at least given where things stand at the moment.

Porter Jr. having the door open for a full practice is a good sign for his status heading into the Steelers' Week 2 matchup with the New England Patriots. There's still a good amount of time left before the game, and he may not handle his usual workload if he's active, but there does appear to be some optimism that he'll be out there at Gillette Stadium.

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