The Pittsburgh Steelers will open up their season on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, but there doesn’t seem to be a resolution to cornerback Joey Porter’s Jr.’s contract update.
Porter has been seeking a new deal this offseason. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo said Tuesday that the Steelers have made an offer to Porter, but it isn’t close to what he is looking for.
“We have said that there hasn’t been an offer made,” Garafolo said. “Update: an offer has been made. I am told by sources that the Steelers have made an offer; it is not good enough for this to be considered close. But at least the Steelers are willing to engage, which means we have a couple of days for both sides to figure out the right numbers to get the deal done.”
Even though the Steelers did make an offer, Garafolo still thinks there is work to be done.
“There is a lot of work to be done from my understanding,” Garafolo added. I would not call it imminent. I would not call it close. But I will call it an actual negotiation now.”
Steelers Need to Reach a Deal With Porter Before Sunday
The Steelers and Porter are coming down to the wire on a deal since the team will not negotiate new contracts once the regular season is underway. This means the Steelers have less than five days to finalize an extension, or Porter will be playing the final year of his rookie contract this 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 in late August. “Our policy is going to remain in place, but I’m not going to talk about negotiations.”
Pittsburgh drafted Porter with the 32nd pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. Although there are usually 32 picks in the first round, that wasn’t the case this year. The Miami Dolphins lost their first-round pick due to tampering, which made Porter the first pick of the second round, which is significant. Since the Steelers didn’t draft Porter in the first round, he is ineligible for a fifth-year option on his rookie contract, which means he will hit free agency next offseason.
Patriots Extended Star Cornerback Christian Gonzalez on Monday
The Steelers also have a lot of pressure to get a deal done now since the New England Patriots extended star cornerback Christian Gonzalez to a four-year, $135 million deal on Monday night.
New England drafted Gonzalez with the 17th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Porter likely won’t get as much as Gonzalez, but the asking price from Porter’s camp could be a little higher after seeing what the Patriots are paying Gonzalez.
The Steelers should have finalized a deal before Gonzalez got his contract, as negotiations could now take a turn for the worse. This is because Porter knows how much a star cornerback drafted the same year recently signed for.
Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr. Gets Troubling Update on Contract Talks Before Falcons Matchup