The Pittsburgh Steelers have yet to reach a deal with cornerback Joey Porter on a long-term extension. As the regular season looms with the Steelers’ first game just 12 days away at the time of writing, the clock is ticking to get a deal done.
The Steelers traditionally do not negotiate contracts once the regular season starts – something general manager Omar Khan says won’t be changing with Porter.
“We won’t talk publicly about the negotiations per se, but Joey knows how we feel about him, and I still
hope Joey finishes his career here,” Khan said via Brooke Pryor. “… Our policy is going to remain in place, but I’m not going to talk about negotiations.”
Several cornerbacks have gotten paid this offseason, including Porter’s fellow 2023 draft classmate Devon Witherspoon, who is currently the highest-paid cornerback in the league on a per-year basis at $33 million. Denzel Ward also saw his salary increase to $31.1 million per year, and Trent McDuffie of the Rams is sitting at $31 million.
Upon returning to practice, fellow Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey defended Porter and said the Steelers need to pay him.
“We need the whole secondary,” Ramsey said via Nick Farabaugh of PennLive. “They need to pay Joey Porter Jr… “I’m overly in Joey’s corner. Joey needs to get compensated for being a valuable part of this secondary and a valuable part of this defense and team.”
Should the Steelers reach an agreement with Porter, it would mark four players from their 2023 draft class that were given second contracts.
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