Steelers' Joey Porter Jr Thoroughly Addresses Looming Contract Negotiations

The Pittsburgh Steelers have gone through a ton of change throughout the 2026 offseason, and the work is not done. The organization now must put some focus towards locking up its current players for the long-term. Players that were selected in the 2023 NFL Draft are now eligible for extensions, and Pittsburgh has quite a few players that fit that criteria. The franchise had one of its better drafts in recent memory in 2023, and now it is time to pay up as it is crucial to lock up homegrown talent. Franchises should never let quality, drafted players leave without receiving anything in return.

The group of players from the 2023 NFL Draft that the Steelers will need to extend is quite large. This includes Nick Herbig, Keeanu Benton, Darnell Washington, and Joey Porter Jr. Porter will probably receive the biggest payday out of all of the players that were just named as his play has improved year after year, and his best football is yet to come. He is in the middle of contract negotiations, and he appeared on Not Just Football With Cam Heyward alongside his father. The show was posted on Wednesday, but was recorded during the 2026 NFL Draft, and Cam Heyward asked the duo about the looming extension. Joey Porter Sr. spoke for his son.

"It's no pressure, because it's going to happen," Porter Sr. said. "How can you really complain about when they want to do the contract when we've watched them make TJ [Watt] wait twice? So like, that's just how we do business. If that's how they want to do business, man we going to be ready. We're going to work, we're going to train, we're going to get in this playbook. When it happens, sh*t, we going to be ready. It's a process, and we embrace the process."

The two didn't seem too worried at all about the pending negotiations. Both seemed incredibly confident that a deal is going to get done eventually, and it doesn't seem to matter to either when it happens. They each seem to have the understanding that the Steelers typically wait until closer to the regular season to get these kinds of deals done, which is fine with the father and the son.

Porter Sr. referenced the fact that TJ Watt had to wait twice for his extensions. His point was that the franchise made a player of his caliber wait, that means his son is going to have to wait as well. The Steelers do not conduct contractual business once the regular season begins, so all parties involved know there is a hard deadline on a new deal. 

Oftentimes these sorts of extensions get completed once training camp is already underway. That was the case with Pat Freiermuth and Alex Highsmith. It will probably be the case with Joey Jr. as well, which could mean there might be some sort of holdout to begin camp. That wouldn't be malicious, though, from the way things sounded.

Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. Continues To Improve

Porter Jr. has been taking on opposing teams' best wide receivers ever since his rookie season in 2023. He has always shown great potential and promise, and he has continued to improve in each season of his career. He is known for his aggressiveness as a cornerback, which has led to some penalties early on in his career. 

This is an area he has improved upon, and he showed that he was one of the best cornerbacks in the league throughout the 2025 season. He has not earned any accolades for his play quite yet, like making it to a Pro Bowl or being named an All-Pro, but they will likely come soon if his play continues to rise.

What do you think about the comments on the looming contract from the Porter family? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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