The Joey Porter Jr.-Pittsburgh Steelers drama continues. The cornerback has been ruled out of the upcoming clash against the Cleveland Browns with a back issue. But given the contract standoff between the two sides, many find it hard to believe Porter even has the injury. Former wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh is one of these skeptics.

“I have a good friend telling me that nothing’s wrong with Joey Porter,” T.J. Houshmandzadeh said on the Speakeasy podcast. “He wants to play. The Steelers aren’t letting him.”

Houshmandzadeh’s co-hosts prodded him on who this source was and tried to vet his credibility. He revealed his “good friend” was part of the “communication wheel,” and if he had to rate him on a credibility score of 1-10, he’d give him a 10.

Porter being ruled out of the Brown’s game has sparked chatter because he was a full participant earlier this week in practice. However, ESPN reported he “seemingly” informed the team of a back issue and was listed as limited in practice on Wednesday. Head coach Mike McCarthy had also expressed optimism about seeing Porter suit up. However, that will not be the case.

Porter spent quite some time on the PUP list this offseason, amid which there was also a lot of talk about his future with the team. He is in his contract year and has reportedly been seeking a high-paying contract. But Porter not being active and no final word coming out of these contract talks led many to suspect whether he really was having a back issue.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Joey Porter Jr. turned down a contract extension from the Steelers. The deal would have paid him slightly more than $27 million per year. The market for cornerbacks was reset by the New England Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez right before the season, who will be paid $33.75 million annually.

The rejected contract would have made Porter the seventh-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL based on average annual salary. He would have been paid more than Jaycee Horn of the Carolina Panthers, who averages $25 million per year, but less than Derek Stingley Jr. of the Houston Texans, who averages $30 million. However, perhaps Porter is eyeing a contract in the $30 million range.

Porter was taken off the PUP list as the Steelers finalized their 53-man roster. Had he still been there, the cornerback would have had to mandatorily sit out the first four games, per rules. However, despite it all, Porter is still away from the gridiron.

CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson reported on September 20, before kickoff against the Patriots, that Joey Porter Jr. was cleared to play from his back injury. However, Porter was ruled inactive. He sat out for the Week 3 game vs. the Bengals, too.

However, Porter has finally spoken about his back issue.

“My back has its moments where [there’s] a flare-up here and there, and we’re still just trying to get my conditioning down to just me being out there as much as possible,” Porter said before the Bengals game.

He also addressed his contract situation.

“It didn’t get done, it didn’t happen,” Porter said, adding that he has not requested a trade. “That’s really just old news for me now. It’s mainly just focus on what I’ve got ahead of me and just really getting back to 100%.”

Porter’s inactivity had many doubting whether the Steelers were planning to ship him off to another team. He has been linked to the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs. However, Porter’s confirmation will quash those rumors, at least until he signs a new contract with the Steelers. Till then, the idea of the cornerback suiting up for other teams in the future will remain very plausible.