​Right now, all attention in the Pittsburgh Steelers offseason is on cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and the contract negotiations looming over him. The 2023 second-round pick is slated for an extension that could land around $30 million per season. Yet, there haven’t been any reports suggesting a deal is imminent just weeks ahead of training camp. Porter Jr. has never shied away from expressing his confidence in his own abilities, and one of his latest Instagram comments signals that he feels the league is slighting him.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has started rolling out his positional rankings this past week, a project that gathers input from a wide range of front office personnel and coaches across the league to gauge how insiders view various players. At this point, Porter Jr. was not included in the top 10, though he did receive honorable mention. In response to Fowler’s post, Porter simply commented, “It gets to a point.”
While it’s arguable that Porter Jr. deserved a place in the top 10, this ranking can still offer a glimpse into how league insiders evaluate him. The coaches and executives who contributed to the list do not place Porter Jr. among the top 10 cornerbacks, which could reflect how the Steelers themselves are viewing his standing heading into the season.
From a Steelers perspective, it would make sense to finalize a deal with Porter Jr. before the season begins. The 2023 draft also produced standout corners such as Christian Gonzalez of the New England Patriots and Devon Witherspoon of the Seattle Seahawks, who are up for extensions and are widely regarded more highly within league circles. If those voices hold weight, either could be in line to become the highest-paid corner in the NFL, underscoring the market pressures Porter Jr. faces.
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