PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan said cornerback Joey Porter Jr. knows how the club feels about him.
The team, however, doesn't feel strongly enough to adjust its long-held standard of not negotiating during the season in hopes of getting something done.
While Khan declined Monday to get into specifics about talks with Porter — who is about to enter the final season of the four-year rookie deal he signed after being the first
pick in the second round of the 2023 draft — he reiterated that the team wants Porter to finish his career in Pittsburgh.
There's a long way to go for that to happen. And apparently there's still some ground to cover if the Steelers want to lock the 26-year-old down into his 30s.
A week after first-year coach Mike McCarthy allowed the team to be at an “impasse” with Porter, there doesn't seem to be much movement.
Porter is coming off the best season of his career. He allowed a career-low 333 yards while being targeted in coverage, didn't give up a touchdown, and knocked down 14 passes. The physical, 6-foot-2 defensive back also cut down on penalties, with teams only accepting six of the flags against him in 2025.
The team did activate Porter off the physically unable to perform list on Sunday. The club said Porter had been dealing with a back issue that flared up during a mobility test when the Steelers reported for training camp in late July.
The cornerback market remains buzzing. Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon agreed to a massive new deal earlier this month, with New England’s Christian Gonzalez also in negotiations about getting a new contract.
Though Porter, who has three interceptions across three seasons, might not be in that neighborhood yet, he also might not be far off. Though he has deep ties to Pittsburgh — he grew up in the city while his father, Joey Porter Sr., played and then later coached for the Steelers — he didn’t rush to sign his rookie deal, waiting until the eve of training camp to do it.
___
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
