The Pittsburgh Steelers are facing a contract standoff with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Both parties haven’t reached an agreement to extend the contract while the player still nurses an injury. Now, star teammate Jalen Ramsey has taken a stance on the matter.
“I’m overly in Joey’s corner. Joey needs to get compensated for being a valuable part of this secondary and a valuable part of this defense and team,” Ramsey said. This is a camaraderie between cornerbacks it seems.
Ramsey and Porter are arguably one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL. For Pittsburgh, it’s important to have them both, and even coach Mike McCarthy has stated that he’d love to coach Porter.
Ramsey is coming back from PUP list, Porter is still on PUP list
Ramsey is just coming back after being in the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. He is now back in training after overcoming a knee injury that had him sidelined. Those are great news.
Jalen Ramsey is back pic.twitter.com/ecMTSYkBla
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) August 24, 2026
However, Porter is still on the PUP list as he is dealing with a reaggravated back injury. That, paired to the contract impasse that him and the Steelers are involved in, and the situation is really cloudy right now.
The Steelers defense should be a top unit
New defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has a lot of talent to work with and if this defensive unit stays healthy, this should be a top-tier defense that surely ranks in the top 10. The lineup should be like this:
- DE – Derrick Harmon
- NT – Yahya Black
- DT – Cam Heyward
- LOLB – TJ Watt
- LILB – Patrick Queen
- RILB – Payton Wilson
- ROLB – Alex Highsmith
- CB – Joey Porter Jr.
- SS – DeShon Elliott
- FS – Jaquan Brisker
- CB – Jalen Ramsey
