The Detroit Lions head into Week 1 with a glaring issue at cornerback, and Joey Porter Jr. suddenly looks like the kind of answer that doesn’t come around often.
Porter, the Pittsburgh Steelers standout, is in the final year of his rookie contract, and the two sides still haven’t reached a new agreement. That uncertainty surfaced at practice Tuesday, when Porter was asked whether he might play without an extension in place.
"I don't know. I have to talk to the guys upstairs and my agents about that one," he said.
If Porter does choose to hold out, the Steelers could be forced to at least consider trade possibilities.
For the Lions, the fit is obvious on paper. Porter was drafted with the final pick of the second round in 2023 and has been one of the league’s top corners almost immediately. According to NextGen Stats, he has not given up a touchdown since Week 8 of his rookie season, a stretch of 1,467 straight snaps - the longest run by any cornerback in the NGS era.
Detroit’s current situation only makes the idea more compelling. In 2025, Porter allowed a passer rating of 62.3.
The closest Lions comparison was Avonte Maddox at 72.9, and Porter logged more than twice as many snaps as Maddox, per NGS. With Brian Branch injured, Maddox is expected to move to safety, which leaves the Lions even thinner at corner.
There’s also a natural personality match here. Porter plays with the kind of edge that fits a hard-nosed team, and the Steelers and Lions both represent blue-collar cities.
He was raised around football, too, as the son of Joey Porter Sr., who spent eight seasons as a linebacker in Pittsburgh and helped the Steelers win their fifth title at Super Bowl XL. That game was his last in Pittsburgh, and it happened at Ford Field in Detroit.
Two decades later, the Lions could have a shot at bringing his son back to the motor city.
The durability is part of the appeal as well. Porter played 850 defensive snaps last season, more than any Lions defensive back.
He also hasn’t played fewer than 14 games in a season since entering the league. That kind of reliability matters, especially for a Detroit secondary that needs help now.
At 26, Porter is still young enough that his best football could be ahead of him. Cornerbacks of this caliber rarely hit the trade market in their prime, and it usually takes a serious package to pry them loose.
Recent comparisons include Champ Bailey and Darrelle Revis, though Porter isn’t at that level. More recently, the Los Angeles Rams paid a steep price for all-pro cornerback Trent McDuffie last offseason, sending four draft picks to the Kansas City Chiefs, including the 29th overall pick in the 2026 draft.
A first- or second-round pick would likely be part of the conversation for Porter, and the Lions’ history of swinging and missing on cornerbacks shouldn’t scare them away from making that kind of move. They’ve spent plenty of draft capital on defensive backs over the years without getting the payoff they wanted.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has reasons to listen. Porter is CB1 there, but with little reason to expect a Super Bowl push anytime soon, the Steelers may be open to hearing offers. The franchise has a well-known habit of avoiding in-season contract negotiations, and there’s no sign that approach is changing.
The Steelers already went through a drawn-out situation with defensive tackle Cameron Heyward last season before eventually getting a deal done. Former running back Le’Veon Bell sat out the entire 2018 season after refusing to sign a franchise tag, and he never played for Pittsburgh again.
Porter’s draft class situation could add more tension. Pittsburgh has already extended three other players from that group, so it would make sense if he felt frustrated.
If he doesn’t like the offer on the table, or if no offer comes at all, he could ask to be traded. Even then, because he remains under contract for 2026, the Steelers would not have to send him anywhere.
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