Joey Porter Sr. joined the Miami Dolphins with real weight behind his name. A three-time Pro Bowl linebacker and a proven edge terror. However, both Porter and the team failed to gain stability. Season after season, losses piled up, with his role shrinking. And recently, Porter admitted that time was hard for him and his family.

While speaking on the Not Just Football podcast, the former linebacker pulled the curtain back. He explained how jarring the move was from the Steel City to Miami.

“I’m coming off of just winning championships, and one in 15 playing on a team where my kids is asking, ‘Dad, do we have to go to the game today?’ … That was a heartbreaking shit right there, man. You ain’t never experienced that.”

The story cut even deeper after Porter explained how losing stripped away his superhero cape at home.

“Imagine when you ain’t Superman no more. When your kids come to tell you, say, Daddy, do we have to go to the game? Can we just stay at home? We in Florida. It ain’t the weather. They don’t want to go up here and lose and hear them talk shit about their daddy for three, four hours. They don’t want to hear that their daddy ain’t sh-t for four hours and we lose again. Go back next week, lose again. Like, they did this sh-t like eight weeks in a row. And it was like, Dad, do we have to go back? I was like, no, man. Y’all go ahead.”

The 2006 season was already brutal with a 6-10 record for the Phins. Next year, with Porter and a new coach, many thought it would change. But it went worse as they ended the season with a 1-15 record. In 2007, Porter logged 57 solo tackles, nine assists, 5.5 sacks, and two interceptions across all 16 games.

He spent two more seasons with the Dolphins, but by 2010, Porter wanted out. His snaps dropped, and his relationship with the then-head coach, Tony Sparano, felt broken beyond repair. Hence, Porter made his stance clear.

“Knowing I’m unhappy and bringing that negative vibe to a team, you don’t want me coming to the stadium with that look on my face, ‘Why am I here?’” Porter told WQAM.

However, Porter still left Miami with good production. He had 128 solo tackles, 27 assists, 32.0 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 2 interceptions in 46 games for the Dolphins. Yet even with those numbers, his Dolphins chapter hurt.

Interestingly, just like Miami, his exit from Pittsburgh also ended on a bitter note.

Why did Joey Porter Sr. leave Pittsburgh?

Joey Porter Sr. joined the Steelers as a third-round pick back in 1999. And soon enough, Porter became the tone-setter on defense. The enforcer who made Sundays at Acrisure Stadium feel uncomfortable for opponents. However, change came fast.

After the 2006 season, the Steelers entered a new phase under head coach Mike Tomlin. During that transition, Pittsburgh chose to release Porter. It was not about effort or legacy. It was about timing. And sometimes, timing does the real damage.

Still, Porter never stopped looking back. Earlier this year, he admitted that Pittsburgh always felt unfinished. While speaking with 93.7 The Fan, he made it clear where his heart stayed.

“Even when I was in Arizona and Miami, I would see Omar [Khan] and the guys, and I was always hoping that I would get a chance to come back and put it on and finish there in a different role, because I never wanted to leave,” Porter said. “It was Pittsburgh. I fit the city, I fit the style of how we going to play.”

In the end, the reunion never happened. Porter never got the final chapter he wanted in black and gold. Yet his resume still speaks loudly in the Steel City. Three Pro Bowls. One All-Pro nod. A Super Bowl ring. And now, a place in the Steelers Hall of Honor. Even without a return, his mark on the franchise remains permanent.