The Steelers may be getting calls on Joey Porter Jr., but this is no time to start shopping one of their key defensive pieces.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have reached out to Pittsburgh about a possible trade for Porter Jr., and other teams are also believed to be checking in. That kind of interest usually ramps up as the deadline approaches. For now, though, the Steelers have bigger priorities than turning a starting-caliber corner into future draft capital.
A few weeks ago, the idea might have made sense. Pittsburgh had Jamel Dean and Asante Samuel Jr. in place, and the cornerback room looked stable enough to at least entertain the thought of moving Porter Jr.
But that picture changed fast after the game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Samuel Jr. was benched for rookie Daylen Everette, and suddenly the Steelers were looking at the outside spot opposite Dean as a real need again.
That’s why the timing matters. Porter Jr. is now practicing at full capacity, and with a short week ahead of a matchup against the Cleveland Browns, there’s a legitimate chance he could make his season debut for Pittsburgh. That’s not the moment to step away from the player and find out what the market will pay.
The Steelers are also in a different place competitively than they were when the trade chatter started. They’re in first place in the AFC North and have a chance to create some separation early in the division race. They’re not a finished product, but they are a playoff contender trying to figure things out while staying in the hunt.
And that’s the bigger point: if Pittsburgh believes it can contend, it can’t be in the business of giving away defensive talent that it may need to slow down passing attacks in January. That’s especially true when the Steelers are trying to stay competitive rather than slide into a reset.
Art Rooney II has already made the organization’s stance clear. The Steelers don’t believe in rebuilds.
They want to stay competitive at all times. Right now, that means keeping Porter Jr. in house and seeing what this defense looks like with him back on the field.
Of course, that could change if the season turns. If Pittsburgh stumbles between now and Week 8, the conversation could look very different. But at this moment, with Porter Jr. nearing a return and the Steelers sitting atop the division, the smarter move is to hold onto him.
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For the Steelers, that kind of postgame tone matters because it reinforces what they already know about AFC North football - wins are earned by forcing the other team to confront its own sloppiness. Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers also offered their views on the matchup and the players who shaped it, adding another layer to a game that felt as much about discipline and execution as it did about the final score. [Read more 🡒]