New Joey Porter Jr. Rumors Uncover Rejected Steelers Contract Offer Amid NFL Trade Buzz

As the Pittsburgh Steelers and Joey Porter Jr. remain at an impasse in contract talks, more details have emerged about the team's potential offer.

According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (h/t Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot), the Steelers offered the veteran cornerback a deal that would have paid him a bit more than $27 million in 2026. Dulac had previously reported that Porter was seeking a deal with a $30 million average annual salary.

Porter, 26, has yet to play in the 2026 season due to a back injury, though ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday that the Steelers are planning for him to "potentially return" for their Week 3 showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Per that report, "Porter's back, according to a source, has 'flared up when he's tried to go full speed, and they haven't been able to get it where it needs to be.' Porter has been considering getting a second opinion on his back."

Schefter added that "the Steelers might think, as one source described this week, that Porter is 'fired up about playing against Cincinnati,' but there is a business angle to this situation that cannot be ignored as the sides remain at an impasse in contract discussions."

In three seasons Porter has registered three interceptions and 31 passes defensed, though he's never been a Pro Bowl or All-Pro selection. That doesn't help his case as he seeks the sort of contract that New England's Christian Gonzalez (four years, $135 million) and Seattle's Devon Witherspoon (four years, $132 million) received this offseason, resetting the cornerback market.

Currently only six NFL cornerbacks have deals with a $30 million AAV—Gonzalez ($33.7 million), Witherspoon ($33 million), Cleveland's Denzel Ward ($31.1 million), the Los Angeles Rams' Trent McDuffie ($31 million), Indy's Sauce Gardner ($30.1 million) and Houston's Derek Stingley Jr. ($30 million).

All have either been Pro Bowlers or All-Pro selections, and all of them except for Ward and Stingley (who each played in just two games last season due to injury) made PFF's Top 101 Players list from the 2025 season. Porter did not.

That doesn't mean he hasn't earned a major payday, but it may help explain why a gulf remains in contract talks if he's indeed seeking a $30 million AAV.