Richard Sherman Knows The Steelers Need To Prepare For A Major Financial Commitment With "Elite" Cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' 2025 season did not end the way the fan base had hoped as the franchise was eliminated in the first round of the postseason for the third season in a row. It was an embarrassing loss, and Mike Tomlin announced he was stepping down as the team's head coach the following day. This marks the end of an era in Pittsburgh, and a lot is going to be changing in the near future for the franchise as it searches for a new head coach for the first time in nearly 20 years.

There is going to be a lot of talk about the next head coach of the Steelers during the 2026 offseason, but there are also some issues surrounding players that need to be addressed. One of those is a potential extension for cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who is coming off of the best season of his young career. He improved when it came to penalties committed, and he truly seemed elite at times. Former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman discussed the matter on The Richard Sherman Podcast, where he mentioned that Porter should get big time money.

"Obviously, they're gonna have to make a choice on Joey Porter Jr., who had a fantastic season," Sherman said. "Are they going to pay him big-time corner money? Because he showed, he can be elite. He played a fantastic game in this playoff game, and really showed what he can do. If they don't do it, somebody else will."

Porter had a great game in the Wild Card Round while covering Nico Collins, and he has played great against some of the league's top wide receivers. He has not allowed a touchdown since his rookie year, and he has improved in all of the areas that he needed to. This included his physicality, which has gotten him into some trouble in the past.

Porter should see an extension that is near the top of the cornerback market. The highest-paid cornerbacks in the league are Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley Jr. who each signed extensions during the 2025 offseason. Stingley is due an average of $30 million per season while Gardner is due an average of $30.1 million per year. Porter does not have the accolades those two had going into negotiations, so his deal should be lower than those figures.

According to OverTheCap, Porter is worth roughly $20 million per year, which is something that most fans would think is a good deal. A lockdown cornerback is certainly worth a deal like that, which is exactly what Porter has been.

Some members of the fan base might be a little apprehensive about adding to the defensive payroll based off of how that side of the ball played in 2025, but Porter is a great, young cornerback. A franchise can't allow a player like that to leave town.

Steelers Have Another Big Decision To Make With Nick Herbig

Another player who is eligible for an extension during the 2026 offseason is outside linebacker Nick Herbig. He has played great when given the opportunity, and his current market value sits at roughly $13 million per season. That is a lot of money to commit to the outside linebacker room, especially with the deals Alex Highsmith and TJ Watt have. Herbig probably won't see a big extension without one of those players getting traded and their contract coming off of the books.

Keeanu Benton is another name to keep an eye on when it comes to an extension, although he has been fairly inconsistent throughout his career up until this point.

What do you think Pittsburgh will do with these extension decisions? Let us know in the comments below!

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