One cornerback off the list, one still on it
Pittsburgh got Jalen Ramsey back on Monday. They did not get Joey Porter Jr. He stays on the physically unable to perform list, and Mike McCarthy chose a word that had nothing to do with medicine to explain why.
“We’re at an impasse right here,” the Steelers coach told reporters. Porter aggravated a back injury on the opening day of training camp and has not practised since. He is 26, and he is in the final year of his rookie contract.
McCarthy did not dodge what that means. “I learned this in my early years as a head coach: You have to separate the business and football. Sometimes it’s easier than others. This is a challenge for both Joey and us because we’re first-year staff. We’ve seen them play, compete against Joey. I would love the opportunity to coach Joey Porter. I know our defensive guys would love the opportunity. Every one of us has a contract. The organization, they have beliefs and so forth. But yeah, that’s just kind of where we are.”
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A summer of showing up without working
Porter attended the OTA sessions and the mandatory minicamp. Reporters allowed into those workouts never saw him take part in the portions open to them. Then came the first day of camp, the back, and the PUP designation that has not moved since.
The Steelers took him with the first pick of the second round in 2023, 32nd overall, and he became a starter almost immediately. Three seasons in he has 165 tackles, 31 pass breakups, three interceptions, three tackles for loss and one sack across 47 games, 41 of them starts.
The date on the calendar
Pittsburgh open the regular season against Atlanta on Sept. 13. Asked how much practice time Porter would need to be available for that game, McCarthy declined to name a number, which is its own kind of answer.
A first-year staff inherited a contract dispute they did not create. Ramsey is back on the grass. The other corner is not, and the reason has a dollar sign somewhere in it.
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