The Steelers do not negotiate contract extensions after the season begins. Thus, time is running out for the team to finalize a long-term deal with cornerback Joey Porter.
“It’s a businessand there are definitely business conversations going on,” coach McCarthy said Monday, via Jack Markowski of SI.com.
McCarthy suggested he expects Porter to play regardless of how talks go before Sunday’s season opener against the Falcons.
“Yeah, I hope so,” McCarthy said. “You know, just keep working with him. He’s still, I’d put him in a growth mode.”
When asked what happens if Porter doesn’t play, McCarthy said, “We’ll see what happens.”
Porter practiced for the first time last Tuesday after spending all of training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list. But last week he was not committed to playing in Week 1 without a contract extension.
Porter, a second-round pick in 2023, is entering the final year of his rookie contract, scheduled to make $3.924 million this year.
He is coming off a career year, totaling a career-high 14 passes defensed to go along with 52 tackles, a sack and an interception.
