Steelers just admitted that Joey Porter Jr. is no longer dealing with an injury despite not practicing at full capacity
After earlier reports in the day suggested that Joey Porter Jr. would be a full participant in practice, that didn’t happen, but the Steelers did chnage the label under why he was limited, and it speaks to the situation in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Steelers listed cornerback Joey Porter Jr. as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice ahead of their Week 2 matchup against the New England Patriots, but the reason attached to that designation told the real story. Porter was no longer listed with a back injury. Instead, his status read NIR/conditioning, meaning non-injury related.
So the Steelers are basically telling you to your face what most of us already knew: Joey Porter Jr. isn’t practicing at a full participation level because of the ongoing contract saga.
So despite earlier reports suggesting Porter would be a full participant and despite video surfacing of him going most of the drills at practice, Pittsburgh still kept him at limited. The shift from a back injury designation to NIR/conditioning, though, strips away any remaining pretense about the situation.
The Steelers’ roster maneuvering makes more sense now
The truth is, this has been building for weeks. The Steelers placed Porter on the PUP list during training camp, creating the appearance that his absence was health-related. They framed his ramp-up as necessary preparation for the regular season. But in reality, Porter has been fine all along. Pittsburgh was doing what it needed to do to stay compliant with the NFLPA, the NFL, and betting-related protocols. It was a CYA move, plain and simple.
Now that the regular season is underway, the non-injury designation makes the holdout impossible to hide. Porter drew a line in the sand when he chose not to play in Week 1. Steelers coach Mike McCarthy said making Porter inactive was his decision, but the broader picture suggests this is a two-sided standoff with no clear resolution in sight.
Joey Porter Jr. 2025 stats
14 games played
- 52 total tackles
- 1 sack
- 1 interception
Where does it go from here?
In my opinion, Porter probably wants one of two things: a new deal with the Steelers or a trade to a team willing to pay him. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, continues to want Porter to simply play. Neither side appears ready to budge.
The question now is whether his participation level ticks up as the week progresses toward Sunday’s game against New England. If it stays at limited with an NIR tag through the end of the week, it becomes harder to imagine Porter suiting up in Week 2.
The bottom line is that Wednesday’s practice report made official what the Steelers had been dancing around for months. Joey Porter Jr. is healthy. The only thing keeping him off the field is the contract, and right now, nobody seems close to solving that problem.
