Darius Slay’s stint in Pittsburgh is already over, but the conversation around it isn’t going away.
After about half a season, the Steelers moved on from the cornerback, and those 10 games ended up being the final ones of Slay’s career. Since then, he’s been candid about how he felt about his time with the organization. At the same time, he’s had no problem speaking highly of some of his former teammates, including Joey Porter Jr. and Jalen Ramsey.
It was Slay’s comments about Porter Jr. that drew a response from former Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor. Slay praised Porter Jr. overall, but added one sharp caveat: he called his hands “sus.” Taylor took issue with that and fired back on X.
"Glad I wasn't in the era for biting da bait," he said via his X account. "An talkn bout the same side of the ball teammate...#inhause."
Slay’s remarks were more praise than criticism, but the one area he singled out was ball production, or the lack of it. Porter Jr. has just one interception in each of his first three seasons, and that appears to be the point Slay was making when he spoke on ESPN’s NFL Live.
"I've been there with him in Pittsburgh. His hands are very sus," Slay said on ESPN's NFL Live.
"He's gonna get them right, though... Other than that, Joey is for sure going to be a guy that's going to sneak into this top 10 easily.
He's a got a big payday coming up, too. Pittsburgh, make sure you do my boy right."
Taylor’s reaction fits the old-school Steelers mindset that keeps issues behind closed doors. Former players from that era have often made it clear they don’t appreciate public shots at teammates or the franchise, and Taylor’s message was another reminder of that code. Slay may have meant it as a compliment, but saying it on ESPN clearly struck a nerve.
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