Joey Porter Jr., the 2023 NFL Draft’s 32nd pick, due to a technicality (with Miami forfeiting their first pick), became the first 2nd-round pick. Subsequently, his contract didn’t have an added 5th-year option like the 31 first-rounders that came before him. That small contractual quirk means that Joey Porter Jr. will be entering his contract year in the 2026 NFL season. The Year 4 cornerback had missed training camp with a back injury amidst his contract negotiation standoff with the Pittsburgh Steelers until he finally made his return earlier this week. 

With negotiations ongoing and seemingly unlikely to be completed in time before Week 1, it was no surprise that reporters wanted to know more about whether Joey Porter Jr. would play for the Steelers if a deal doesn’t get done. However, he remained blunt in his reply. 

“I don’t know. I gotta talk to the guys upstairs, my agents, about that one,” Porter told reporters via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor’s X post.

Joey Porter is currently on a four-year, $9.61 million rookie contract and is set to earn $3.9 million in cash and base salary for the 2026 NFL season. He also spoke about whether he thinks the contract situation can get resolved before the start of the season and how the whole negotiation process has been. 

“I can hope and think all day, but it’s up to those guys upstairs [in management] and what they want to do with this team. All I can do is just show up every day to work and be prepared…

“It’s been tough, not going to lie. It’s my first go-around at this, but I mean, it’s also been great because I have all my guys with me, all the coaches and players really on my side. I understand everything about the business side of things. So, it’s not really too much to go about, but it’s been a little bit tough. At the end of the day, it is what it is,” Joey Porter Jr. further said.

The frustration seems to be stemming from contract numbers. Porter is entering the final year of his rookie deal, seeking elite cornerback money. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh handed extensions to 2023 classmates Nick Herbig on a four-year, $100 million contract, Keeanu Benton, and Darnell Washington. Yet, reports indicate that the Steelers front office is unwilling to meet Porter at the valuation he thinks he deserves. 

Initially, there were some concerns in the negotiation as reports claimed that the Steelers had not even tabled an offer. But that delay was partly blamed on Porter getting injured on Day 1 of training camp in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that the Steelers wanted to see him in practice before making an offer. 

However, new Steelers HC Mike McCarthy previously acknowledged an active contract “impasse,” which suggests that the standoff is related to the finances of the deal. 

A look at his stats suggests that Porter may very well be capable of having an elite, creme-de-la-creme cornerback contract. He held opposing QBs to under a 49% pass completion rate (surrendering roughly 48.5 ) when targeted and kept them under a 57.2 passer rating in the 2025 season. He hasn’t allowed a single TD since Week 8 of the 2023 season, marking the longest active streak in the NFL among all cornerbacks. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ team tradition suggests that time is running out. General Manager Omar Khan confirmed on Monday, August 31, that Pittsburgh will stick to its rule of shutting down all contract talks once the regular season kicks off. That gives both sides an 11-day countdown before the September 13 opener against the Atlanta Falcons to avoid pushing negotiations to next offseason in 2027.

Omar Khan further refrained from publicly debating ongoing negotiations, noting that Porter already understands how valued he is by the organization and reiterating his personal hope that Porter spends the rest of his career in black and gold.  

With neither side blinking yet, Porter offered an honest statement on his chances of playing against the Falcons: “I can’t read the future. I couldn’t even give you the answer, to be honest.”