The Pittsburgh Steelers are under two weeks away from taking the field for their season opener at Acrisure Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons. However, one issue still hanging over the Steelers is the contract “impasse” with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. While no reports suggest a deal is close to being done, Porter Jr. will be back on the practice field this week.
After being activated from the PUP list after missing the entirety of training camp with a back injury, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy
said that Porter Jr. will “definitely” practice on Tuesday.
“Anybody that comes in here for the first time, there’s a ramp-up type of process to it,” McCarthy said to the media. “That’s what we’ll look for with Joey today.”
When asked if Porter Jr. has done enough work off to the side during training camp to be ready to play up to speed in week one, McCarthy seemed to think that this “ramp up” process will give us some insight into the corners potential week one status.
“Well, that’s why you have ramp-up. He’s been working with the medical people, so there’s definitely a process and there’s an understanding of what he was going through there with the injuries. There’s a process that every one of these players has gone through as far as ramping up before you go full speed on the field. So he’ll be in that category.”
While it is an encouraging sign that Porter Jr. is returning to the practice field this week, this situation is far from over. Just over the weekend, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Porter Jr. is upset that the Steelers have paid other players from the 2023 draft class before him.
It doesn’t make financial sense for Porter Jr. to sit out and miss any of the regular season even if he doesn’t have a new deal from Pittsburgh. While the Steelers star corner is still unhappy with his contract situation, he is abiding by the McCarthy rule that if you are healthy, you are expected to practice.
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