The Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr. situation has reached the kind of uneasy place that gets rival teams and national analysts thinking big. With contract talks still stuck, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox has floated a major idea: Detroit landing Porter for a 2027 first-round pick.
That kind of return would give Pittsburgh a premium draft asset while also giving the club a way out if the stalemate with its young cornerback never gets solved. Porter is in the final year of his rookie deal, and the gap between the two sides has reportedly not closed in recent weeks. There has even been talk that Porter could ask for a trade or sit out games if no agreement comes together.
Knox’s view is straightforward about where the Steelers could land if the situation keeps heading in the wrong direction.
“If things get to a point where the Steelers don’t believe they can keep Porter, flipping them for a high 2027 pick will become an option for them.”
That would be a meaningful haul for Pittsburgh. Instead of letting Porter finish out the year and risk losing him in free agency, the Steelers would turn a contract problem into another first-round selection.
Knox tied the idea to Pittsburgh’s bigger quarterback picture as well.
“Aaron Rodgers isn’t the future at quarterback, and while Pittsburgh may hope that either Will Howard or Drew Allar can be, it wouldn’t hurt to have a pair of first round picks in what is expected to be a QB-heavy draft,” Knox writes.
That’s where the 2027 pick starts to look especially interesting for the Steelers. Rodgers is in place as the veteran option this season, while Howard and Allar are both part of the conversation as possible long-term answers. If neither proves to be the guy, an extra first-rounder would give general manager Omar Khan more room to maneuver in a draft class expected to be heavy on quarterbacks.
Detroit would be looking at this from a different angle entirely. Porter would be the kind of addition that fits a team with Super Bowl aspirations: a physical cornerback in his prime who can immediately strengthen a key spot in the secondary.
The numbers show why he would be such a tough player for Pittsburgh to lose. Since going No. 32 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Porter has started all 41 games he has played. Over his first three seasons, he has 165 tackles, 31 passes defended and three interceptions.
Still, the Steelers’ timing problem is real. Head coach Mike McCarthy has already called the negotiations an “impasse,” and Porter recently got back on the practice field after missing time with a back injury.
Even so, moving a 26-year-old starting corner entering his prime would be a major step for Pittsburgh, especially with the team trying to contend in 2026. The organization has little reason to give up on a player like Porter unless the contract situation becomes impossible to fix.
For now, though, this is only a prediction, not a reported deal in motion. But with Porter’s future unsettled and the Steelers still searching for clarity at quarterback, the idea of a first-round pick in return is the kind of fallback that could suddenly matter.
In Other News...
Steelers Just Set Up A Tense Waiting Game For Drew Allar
The Steelers have already mapped out the quarterback room for 2026, and it leaves Drew Allar in a patient, developmental lane for now. Aaron Rodgers is in line to open the season as the starter, Mason Rudolph is behind him as the backup, and both Will Howard and Allar are being brought along as developmental options while the organization looks ahead.
For Allar, that means the first year is likely to be about learning rather than playing, with ESPNs Dan Graziano noting that meaningful snaps would be hard to come by unless something extreme changes, such as an injury to Rodgers or the Steelers reaching a point where they can rest starters after locking up a playoff berth. The long view is what matters here, because Pittsburgh appears to be setting him up to compete for the job in 2027, but the immediate path is a waiting game. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Face Two Early Concerns That Could Expose Aaron Rodgers
The Steelers spent the summer trying to smooth out a few rough edges before the regular season, but the biggest concerns are the ones that tend to show up fast when the games count. Availability and chemistry in the secondary remain part of the conversation after some players missed preseason action because of injuries or contract issues, and the offensive line is still sorting itself out with questions lingering at right tackle and around how the new and repositioned pieces fit together.
For Aaron Rodgers, the lack of extended preseason work only sharpens the pressure on those units to settle in quickly. Pittsburgh does not need perfection in Week 1, but it does need cohesion, especially up front, where even a small breakdown can put the quarterback in a difficult spot. How quickly the secondary and line come together will go a long way toward determining whether these are early-season growing pains or a more serious problem for Mike McCarthy's team. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Still Have A Quarterback Decision That Could Stir Debate
The Steelers trimmed their quarterback room from four to three, but the conversation around Mason Rudolph is still hanging over the roster. With Rudolph in the final year of his contract, he looks like the most movable arm on the depth chart, and that alone has kept his name in circulation as teams across the league sift through their own quarterback questions.
Buffalo, Tampa Bay and the Jets have all been mentioned as clubs that could make sense if they decide they need more help behind center, given the way their current situations are set up. For Pittsburgh, the question is less about whether Rudolph has value and more about whether the right deal ever materializes, because nothing official has been reported yet and the Steelers still have a decision to weigh on a quarterback who could draw interest. [Read more 🡒]