Two Ways Joey Porter Jr. Leaves Steelers

Things appear to be going south between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Joey Porter Jr. If it ends poorly, there are two ways things can come to an end.

Jan 12, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. leaves the field following an AFC Wild Card Round loss to the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers' biggest offseason contract still isn't signed. Joey Porter Jr. remains on the final year of his rookie deal, and right now, reports make it sound like things are going sideways in negotiations.

The two are reportedly "far apart," and in the midst of the chaos, Porter Jr.'s agent changed agencies as a whole, adding a whole new twist to the offseason game.

The expectation is still that Porter Jr. and the Steelers will agree to something before Week 1 of the regular season, but the chaos that happens between now and then could become louder and more dramatic.

If nothing does get done, Porter Jr. is gone. He'll most likely finish his last season in Pittsburgh and head into free agency, where he'll sign a bigger deal than the one he would've signed with the Steelers.

How does that happen? There are two ways.

Way Number One: JPJ Doesn't See It

The Steelers have a star in Porter Jr., but he's not the best cornerback in the NFL. Realistically, his three interceptions, 31 pass deflections and 54% completion percentage allowed puts him in the top 10 of the league's coverage players. And at 25-years-old, he's going to keep growing, and should enter that top five mix. Maybe he does even more than that.

But the Steelers can't pay him number one cornerback money, right now. He shouldn't be expecting that. He should be looking at top five, which puts him behind Trent McDuffie, Sauce Gardner, Derek Stingley Jr., Jaycee Horn and maybe Patrick Surtain II. Surtain makes $24 million this season before incentives, according to Spotrac.

Porter should find himself roughly in that $25 to $30 million range, and probably closer to $30 million than $25 million. But not higher than McDuffie's $31 million per year average.

Then, there's the guaranteed money. Kansas City Chiefs' rookie Mansoor Delane has a guarantee of $41.9 million on his contract. Porter Jr. needs to be above that. However, McDuffie tops the list at $50 million guaranteed in his new deal with the Los Angeles Rams, and that's more than the Steelers should be handing out.

Wherever in that range is fine, but Porter Jr. can't expect more.

One of two ways the Steelers and Porter Jr. don't get a deal done is that he is being too high on himself and choosing money over everything. It'll land him a pretty huge deal in free agency next year, but it'll also mean another team will overpay for him, the Steelers won't.

But Porter Jr. isn't the only side that could be wrong in this situation.

Way Number Two: Steelers Are Stubborn for No Reason

While Porter Jr. may be overvaluing themselves, the Steelers could be undervaluing the position their in.

It's been a LONG time since the Steelers had a developmental cornerback with star potential. The last one they drafted and were able to keep through his career was Ike Taylor. And now that they have the opportunity in front of them, they need to take advantage of it.

But what if they have gone so long with rotational pieces at the position that they've gotten comfortable? Maybe they've hit a place where they feel they can find the Jamel Deans and Jalen Ramseys on a year-to-year basis, and that their money should be spent elsewhere. At least some of it.

If that lowers their price dramatically, that's on the Steelers, not Porter Jr.

They need to understand what they have in this player and the opportunity they have to end a very long drought. It's time to pay Porter Jr., and make it market value before he leaves.

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