When a cornerback enters the final year of his rookie deal, earning just over $2 million in base salary, the performance-to-pay gap doesn’t just raise eyebrows; it makes a case. When it comes to Joey Porter Jr., that case is becoming impossible to ignore for Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan. Even former Steelers quarterbacks are lining up to see JPJ get paid.

Charlie Batch knows what it means to be part of a Steelers squad built on the right pieces. The Pittsburgh native and two-time Super Bowl champion spent over a decade with the franchise (2002-2012), and on the BIGPLAY Pittsburgh podcast, he tried to make exactly that point to Khan.

“Ultimately, you’re hoping that JPJ, when those contract talks are happening behind the scenes, that hopefully the contract is done sooner rather than later because this guy has earned every penny that is coming his direction,” Batch said on the podcast.

Batch also urged the Steelers to avoid a potential contract standoff, as well as the media narratives that often follow contract talks.

“And let’s hope that you can knock this out before training camp hits and not have him work toward free agency and ultimately have him thinking about what happens after the season because as a media member, people are going to be asking him, ‘Hey, are you preparing as if this is the last year?’” Batch added, before addressing Khan directly. “If this is your guy, lock him up. Omar Khan, lock JPJ up and do it soon.”

Porter, who will turn 26 in July, played 14 regular-season games in 2025 despite a hamstring injury that forced him to miss three early contests. He finished the season with 52 tackles, one sack, one interception, and a career-high 14 pass defenses. What’s more, with just a cap charge of $3 million in 2026, he’s a franchise value player with backup-tier pricing.

But the top cornerback market has moved. Sauce Gardner’s four-year, $120.4 million extension with the New York Jets at $30.1 million per year reset the standard for elite corners last offseason. Any deal for Joey Porter Jr. will be benchmarked against that deal. And the longer Omar Khan waits, the higher that floor climbs. Beat writer Ray Fittipaldo, for one, has made a case similar to Charlie Batch.

“Joey’s a slam dunk, right? Joey had a really good year,” Fittipaldo said on 93.7 The Fan on March 13. “I think they have to go out and sign him to market value for a top, young cornerback in the league. I don’t know exactly what that is. But you’re probably looking at $15 million or more to get him under contract. I think that’s money well spent.”

Let this drift past training camp unresolved, and Omar Khan hands his own player a contract-year narrative while inviting the rest of the league to start circling. But Khan hasn’t been passive elsewhere. While the JPJ extension timeline stays unresolved for now, the Steelers have used the offseason aggressively to address the rest of the roster.

Omar Khan’s locker room rebuild

The most significant addition on offense has been that of wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., when he was acquired via trade from the Indianapolis Colts and signed to a three-year, $59 million deal. Pittman caught 80 passes for 784 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns in 2025. He’s a proven, physical option at a position Pittsburgh desperately needed to upgrade.

Steel City doesn’t have a legitimate WR2 behind D.K. Metcalf, and Pittman is that missing link. He has already hinted at talks with head coach Mike McCarthy for an increased role in the offense in 2026.

Pittsburgh also secured cornerback Jamel Dean on a three-year, $36.75 million deal to shore up the position opposite Joey Porter Jr. Dean arrives from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after seven seasons and 96 games. Per Next Gen Stats, he allowed just 4.7 yards per target in coverage last season, the lowest figure of any cornerback in the league. Dean adds elite athleticism alongside Porter in what is suddenly a formidable Pittsburgh secondary.

Sebastian Joseph-Day, the Tennessee Titans nose tackle, rounds out the Steelers’ defensive additions. Signed on a two-year, $11 million deal, he logged 41 tackles last season, with 6 tackles for loss and two sacks. He now becomes an answer to Pittsburgh’s run-defense vulnerability from last season (the Steelers ranked 13th in rushing defense, with 113.1 average yards allowed per game).

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, signed a two-year, $12.25 million deal with the Steelers. Having managed just 103.3 rushing yards per game, the Steelers’ rushing offense ranked 26th in the league. Dowdle brings the kind of ground game reliability that can move Steel City to the top.

Omar Khan’s offseason blueprint is taking shape once again. The one piece that still needs a new price tag attached to him is Joey Porter Jr. Until the deal gets done, former quarterbacks and NFL analysts will keep pushing for answers.