Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon recently inked a record-setting extension, and the expectation is that Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez will top that deal at some point, even if it does not happen before Week 1. Joey Porter Jr., the Steelers’ top corner, is unlikely to hit the contractual benchmarks that Witherspoon and Gonzalez have/will set, but the 2027 free agent is nonetheless in line for a healthy payday.
In late June, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said an agreement between Pittsburgh and Porter was not imminent, and it does not sound as if negotiations gained much traction in the following weeks. Indeed, in a chat with fans on August 4, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said that up until the start of training camp at the end of July, the two sides had not even had serious discussions.
Rapoport and Dulac have made it clear they expect a deal to get done, and Dulac has doubled down on that belief. He said the Steelers still plan to extend Porter, and in response to a fan query as to when a pact would be finalized, he simply said, “soon.”
Dulac had previously opined that a Porter extension would place the second-generation talent near the bottom of the top-10 earners at the cornerback position, and longtime Steelers beat Mark Kaboly later predicted a four-year, $112MM accord. The $28MM AAV on Kaboly’s proposal would currently represent the sixth-highest figure among CBs, though Gonzalez’s new deal (whenever it happens) will bump that number down a spot.
It is unclear how far apart the Steelers and Porter are with respect to contract value, because as Dulac stated, talks had not commenced in earnest by the time players reported to training camp. That said, Dulac does not believe Porter’s ask will be outlandish, and he continues to expect a deal to come together in the near future. Porter opened training camp on the active/PUP list due to a back injury and is still on the list as of the time of the writing, but Dulac says the ailment is not a serious one.
In other news impacting Pittsburgh’s secondary, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic says seventh-round rookie Robert Spears-Jennings has been getting first-team safety reps since DeShon Elliott and Jaquan Brisker are not presently at full strength. Despite Spears-Jennings’ ascension and the recent addition of Rayshawn Jenkins, DeFabo believes the club could still add a true free safety, perhaps after cut-down day. Elliott, Brisker, and Jenkins are all at their best when they play closer to the line of scrimmage.
