The Pittsburgh Steelers defense shut down the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday despite not having arguably their best player in cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Porter Jr. was named an inactive before the game despite reports that he was healthy and able to play. This goes into the theory that his absence was more of a product of the failed contract negotiations between Porter Jr. and the team.
After the game, head coach Mike McCarthy was asked about Porter Jr.'s absence and McCarthy offered up the most diplomatic update he possibly could. According to McCarthy, Porter Jr. is finishing up that ramp up stage we heard about all week and are ready to move onto the next stage, whatever that may be.
McCarthy also commented briefly on the contract situation, only
nothing that it's the business side of things but he did say there was a timeline on that as well and the team has come to the end of it also.
Mike McCarthy on JPJ: “Joey, I would put him just finishing up the ramp up stage. … he’s definitely ready to do more. We’ll see how it goes.”
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 13, 2026
“The business part of it, that’s not for me to speak on. We had a plan .. we’re coming to the end of the timeline or that.”
Porter Jr. stayed in the facilities for the first hour of the game before making his way to the sidelines. Porter Jr. walked alone back to the lockers after the win, seemingly indifferent to the team getting a huge Week One win.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers HC Mike McCarthy makes diplomatic comments on Joey Porter Jr.
