The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently facing a bit of an issue with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. It took a little bit of a turn on Tuesday.
Porter has been out of training camp since the first day of practice after suffering a back injury, but it does seem like he is getting closer to being back on the field. However, contract negotiations still loom.
Porter Might Not Play Without a New Contract
The 26-year-old corner is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, and he doesn’t know if he will play if he doesn’t get an extension before the season starts.
“I don’t know; I’ve got to talk to the guys upstairs, my agents about that one,” Porter said Tuesday about whether he will play if a deal doesn’t get done, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
Jeff Hathhorn from 93.7 The Fan asked Porter if he would play if he is healthy, and he was not ready to commit.
“Yeah, for sure, maybe.”
It doesn’t sound promising that Porter is going to take the field in Week 1 when the Steelers host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 1 p.m ET.
The Steelers have less than two weeks to get a deal done with Porter since they don’t negotiate new deals with players during the regular season.
“We won’t talk publicly about the negotiations, but Joey knows how we feel about him, and I still hope Joey finishes his career here,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said on Monday. “Our policy is going to remain in place, but I’m not going to talk about negotiations.”
Steelers Head Coach Mike McCarthy Updated Porter’s Health
Porter dumped cold water on the good news about him on Tuesday. Before practice, head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Porter would return to practice this week.
“Definitely,” McCarthy said when asked if Porter will practice this week, via Steelers Now Alan Saunders. “I think Joey coming off the PUP, just like the other players, anybody that comes in here for the first time, there’s a ramp-up-type process to it and that’s what we’ll look for with Joey today.
“He’s been working with the medical people, so there’s definitely a process and there’s an understanding of what he was going through there with the injuries. There’s a process that every one of these players has gone through as far as ramping up before you go full speed on the field. So he’ll be in that category.”
The Steelers placed Porter on the PUP list when he injured his back in late July, but they removed him from the list on Sunday when they cut the roster down to 53 players.
Pittsburgh didn’t want Porter to miss four games at the start of the season if he remained on the PUP list, but it might not matter now if Porter doesn’t reach a new contract in the next two weeks because he might sit out even if he is healthy.
Steelers’ Joey Porter Speaks Out on Playing Future Amid Contract Standstill