Asked this week if he will play at some point, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. told reporters, “Yes, definitely.
He was not asked to specify whether that would be with the Steelers or a new team.
As Porter’s contract impasse with the Steelers stretches into a third week — and, potentially, a third game missed Sunday due to “conditioning” — more teams are reportedly heading to Pittsburgh for a potential trade.
Last week, the official word from ESPN was that the Steelers had not received “serious investigations” regarding Porter. PFT then reported that at least one team has called.
Now, ESPN reports that a “handful” of teams “have started to investigate“On a possible trade for Porter. The Steelers are said to be ‘willing to listen,’ but they would like a ‘strong compensation package.’
This is where a strange situation turns even worse. If the Steelers want that much for Porter (we’ve heard it could be as much as a first-round pick or a second-round pick, plus a third-round pick), why wouldn’t they pay him something closer to what he’s asking for? For interested teams, the challenge becomes giving the Steelers what they want for Porter while also getting Porter to a new deal.
The new report identifies the Lions and Cowboys as teams that have called the Steelers.
Dallas would be an interesting destination, given that Porter is represented by the same agent (David Mulugheta) who represents former Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. After an ugly contract negotiation during which Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones disrespected Mulugheta by pretending not to know who he is, the Cowboys traded Parsons to the Packers once it became clear that Parsons would not play without a new contract.
The trade deadline hits 44 days, the Tuesday after Week 9. The sooner a trade happens, the sooner the Steelers and Porter get out of a situation that’s getting more difficult by the day. Porter is clearly not playing because he doesn’t have a new contract, and the Steelers have backed themselves into a corner with their old internal rule that no new contracts are made after the start of the regular season.