Steelers' TJ Watt Has Proven Exactly How Joey Porter Jr Has Handled His Contract Situation The Wrong Way

The Pittsburgh Steelers' situation with Joey Porter Jr. is getting tiresome for everyone involved. It is still unclear if he will play in Week 2, as he was limited on Wednesday's practice with a "conditioning" designation. Everyone is looking for answers, but likely nobody but Porter and his agent truly knows what's going on. Until he either plays football in Week 2 or is traded away, there will be no certainty to his status. The one thing that is known is that Pittsburgh likely has officially ended negotiations with the star cornerback at this point since they regular season has begun.

The Steelers are no strangers to contract disputes. Defensive stars TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward have both held in until the final moment before getting a deal done. Former running back Le'Veon Bell held out an entire year due to receiving offers that he felt were insulting. Those all have had mixed results, and the hope is that Porter will play football for Pittsburgh sooner rather than later.

Whether Porter is truly conditioning or not, all reports have claimed that he has handled this situation poorly. While making an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Aditi Kinkhabwala spoke about how this situation played out before, but with a completely different result.

"If you remember, years ago, when TJ Watt had his hold-in, he was still working; he was doing individuals [drills] every day," Kinkhabwala said. He was making sure he was in shape so that the minute that that contract got done, he'd be ready to go, and Week 1 against Buffalo, he killed it. He helped save that game."

Watt's contract negotiations took a long time to do, as he was trying to break Pittsburgh's long-standing tradition of not guaranteeing money past the first year. It eventually worked, and he rewarded the organization in a massive way. It all started in that Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills, where he recorded two sacks, five quarterback hits, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble to lead the Steelers to a win.

Those were the first two sacks of his record year, where he tied the all-time mark with 22.5 sacks. Despite missing two games due to injury and having to leave early in many more, he was the biggest reason why the Steelers made the playoffs that year. He had one of the single greatest seasons by a defensive player in NFL history despite the fact that he skipped all of training camp and preseason. 

This is what Kinkhabwala has an issue with on the Porter front. Watt held in up until the start of the regular season, but he was still ready to go full speed with no questions asked. Meanwhile, the cornerback missed Week 1 of the 2026 season with what is being described as a "ramp-up period" to get him properly conditioned, and he is still supposedly going through that to boost his conditioning.

It has been confirmed that Porter is medically cleared to play, so his back shouldn't be an issue at this point. He should be ready to play very soon, if not right now. If he is listed as a healthy scratch again, Pittsburgh may not have a choice but to deal him away. He has practiced over the last few weeks, so it's not like he just now came back from a major issue.

Steelers Are Likely Not Dealing With A Conditioning Problem

Kinkhabwala's take on the whole situation makes sense if Porter truly was injured. However, he also went through individual drills throughout training camp while on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, as did Watt when he was holding in. This is likely more about having a lack of motivation and/or still a hold-in after receiving what he believed to be an insulting contract offer. 

What do you think about Watt being conditioned after his hold-in while Porter is not there yet? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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