Not negotiating with a player in-season in more than 30 years, the Steelers have run into an interesting standoff with Joey Porter Jr. The team had not made its top 2023 draftee an offer — during an offseason in which three 2023 Pittsburgh picks were extended — by late August, and its eventual proposal did not satisfy the cornerback’s camp.
Some clarity on that deal has emerged, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. The veteran Steelers reporter said during an interview with 102.5 FM (h/t Steelers Depot) the team offered Porter a deal carrying an AAV just north of $27MM. While that is an illuminating detail, Porter’s dissatisfaction with the offer stems from its structure.
As our Nikhil Mehta most recently pointed out, the Steelers — in most circumstances — refrain from providing post-Year 1 guarantees in their offers. In a policy in stride with the Bengals and Packers, signing bonuses regularly represent upfront guarantees for Steeler players not named T.J. Watt or Ben Roethlisberger. Most other teams are willing to dole out such promises; a trade to one of those franchises may be Porter’s way out here, but tepid interest is believed to have emerged (as an acquiring team would need to give the Steelers a premium draft asset and authorize a big-ticket extension).
Given the two-pronged acquisition cost facing interested teams in this case, I mentioned in my latest mailbag that a Porter trade would come as a surprise at this point. On the other hand, speculation about his Pittsburgh future will only intensify as time goes on provided a return to action does not take place. The 26-year-old’s practice participation will once again be something to watch closely over the coming days. Pittsburgh’s Week 3 game will be played against a Bengals offense which is 10th in the NFL in scoring through two contests.
As expected, the cornerback market saw multiple upward shifts this past offseason. It now has six members (including other 2023 draftees Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez) averaging at least $30MM per season as a result. A $27MM-per-year extension would place Porter seventh in the pecking order between Derek Stingley Jr. and Jaycee Horn. Of course, locked-in compensation is critical as well when comparing contracts. Three corners — Witherspoon, Gonzalez and Trent McDuffie — landed $50MM or more in full guarantees with their 2026 extensions.
Porter could be aiming for a similar figure, which would require upfront guarantees beyond 2027. With the Steelers not in line to budge from their long-held position on contract structure, the possibility of the franchise tag being used next spring still looms. A 2027 tag would cost roughly $23.12MM, well short of the top of the market. That figure would count in full toward Pittsburgh’s salary cap for 2027, though, whereas a long-term deal would allow for greater flexibility. The matter of whether or not a multiyear commitment can be agreed to in this situation is still far from certain, especially with no new negotiations imminent.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
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