The Steelers’ hopes of getting Joey Porter Jr. closer to a return took a hit on Thursday, and now his Week 2 status looks a lot murkier than it did a day ago.
Pittsburgh had spent the week trying to build Porter back up after he missed the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons while working his way back from a back issue. He was limited in practice last week and had remained on a gradual ramp-up as the team looked ahead to Sunday’s road game against the New England Patriots.
But during the portion of Thursday’s practice open to the media, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor reported that Porter left the field with a trainer. Before that, he had taken part in some individual drills, which at least suggested he was able to get on the field and work.
Mike McCarthy had said before practice that the plan was for Porter to increase his workload from Wednesday. The Steelers had listed him as a limited participant that day, with his designation shifting from a back injury to non-injury-related conditioning. On the team’s official injury report, he is currently listed as limited with NIR/conditioning.
Porter’s absence already cost Pittsburgh one game, and the Steelers still managed to beat Atlanta 20-13 without him. Even so, the team has clearly been treating him as an important piece of the defense and has been careful about bringing him back the right way.
McCarthy said Porter is still in a ramp-up process and will play once he’s ready to handle a full practice. He also noted that Porter stays in regular contact with the training and strength-and-conditioning staffs as Pittsburgh decides when he can return to full participation.
For now, the Steelers will keep watching his progress through the rest of the week. They visit the Patriots at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, and Porter’s availability remains one of the biggest questions heading into that matchup.
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