The Pittsburgh Steelers have been talked about a ton to begin the 2026 NFL season. The team has put up some embarrassing offensive performances, but the defense looks like it is back to being elite. If the group can play the way it has throughout the entire season, then the organization might finally be justifying how much it spends on that side of the ball. The defense has looked great despite missing an important piece as star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. has not been on the field at all in 2026. He missed all of training camp due to a back injury, but there is also a contract dispute going on.
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Pittsburgh Steelers star cornerback out of Penn State, Joey Porter Jr. (24) during warmups before a home game in 2025.
Porter and the organization had the entire 2026 offseason to get an extension done, but nothing came to fruition as the young defender got to see some of his classmates from the 2023 NFL Draft sign their second contracts. He made it clear he was not looking to become the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, but he did deserve to be paid at the top of the market. It was reported that the deal he turned down was worth just over $27 million annually, but that doesn't mean the length or guarantees were good.
The Steelers do not conduct contractual business once the regular season begins, and the two sides were engaged in conversation all the way through the morning of the season opener. Obviously nothing got done and he has not taken the field, and the feeling is that he could be traded at some point in the future. NFL writer Jason La Canfora recently wrote about this situation, and he gave a good idea of when a trade could occur.
"These aren’t your father’s Steelers, they aren’t wedding to old-school philosophies anymore and we get the strong suspicion that moving this talented player is reaching the 'addition by subtraction' stage of these types of standoffs," La Canfora wrote. "I believe he will be gone. And perhaps quite a bit sooner than the midseason deadline."
La Canfora is right as the Steelers have changed a decent amount in the way the organization does things. The franchise has been more aggressive lately, and he believes that may lead to the Steelers dealing Porter well ahead of the midseason deadline.
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Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. (24) celebrates a big pass breakup during a road game against the Baltimore Ravens in 2025 that helped seal the team's victory.
The trade deadline for the 2026 season falls on November 10th, which is the Tuesday after the league's Week 9 games. This is typically when the most players are traded, but La Canfora has reason to believe that the Steelers will entertain moving Porter before then. This is because the entire situation is probably becoming more distracting, and getting rid of a distraction could help moving forward in the 2026 season. However, the longer the Steelers wait, the more and more cornerback-needy teams could appear which would drive the price up in a trade.
Steelers Need To Find A Solution To This Saga Soon
There is something to be said that addition by subtraction would have to be in mind in trading Porter at this point. The whole thing has to be distracting in the locker room, which is not something the team needs. The Steelers can probably get some Day 2 draft capital in a deal, and that should be considered now.
Ideally the franchise will put aside its prehistoric practice of not conducting contractual business during the season and pay Porter. The Steelers defense has been great so far, but there is a chance this secondary could get picked apart against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. Then it would be hard to trade Porter as his value to the defense would be evident. Lockdown cornerbacks are important, and the Steelers can't just let one leave for next to nothing.
What do you think about the Steelers potentially trading Porter before the deadline? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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