The Joey Porter Jr. contract standoff has stretched into Week 3, and the latest report suggests the Steelers put a huge number on the table before the talks broke down.
According to Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh offered Porter a deal worth $27 million per year, a proposal the cornerback turned down. That figure would have slotted Porter in as the seventh-highest paid cornerback by average annual value, behind Derek Stingley and ahead of Jaycee Horn.
“I don’t see how Joey Porter Jr. will go play this year for just south of $4 million when he walked away from what would have been just north of $27 million this year,” Dulac said on WDVE, via Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot.
Porter has already spent training camp and the preseason away from the field while the contract dispute played out. He still hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game, with a back injury cited as the reason for his absence.
The sides also never reached a long-term agreement before the season, and with Pittsburgh not negotiating contracts during the regular season, the chances of a deal getting done this year appear slim.
Porter has pushed back on the idea that he wanted to reset the cornerback market or become the highest-paid cornerback in football. The report, though, gives the clearest picture yet of the offer he passed on.
Adam Schefter reports the Steelers expect Porter to play in Week 3, though Porter is seeking a second opinion on his back.
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