The Lions have officially called the Steelers about Joey Porter Jr., and now the trade everyone has talked about feels very real
ESPN reports Detroit is among the teams that have inquired about Pittsburgh’s star cornerback, turning weeks of speculation into an actual trade conversation.
The Detroit Lions are set to play the New York Jets at 1:00 on Sunday, but first, there’s some big news to talk about. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Lions have reached out to thye Pittsburgh Steelers to inquire about cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
The report says the Steelers are willing to listen to trade offers for Porter, but they want a strong compensation package in return. There’s been some thought out there that they would like a first-round pick for Porter, and that is the starting point. That would be quite the move for the Lions, and as we’ve learned recently, it would be quite the risk as well. A risk that, more often than not, does not pay off.
Why Porter fits the Lions so well
Porter actually fits what the Lions want to do defensively better than what Pittsburgh was asking him to do. He’s a big, long, physical corner who is at his best when he can get in a receiver’s face, disrupt the route at the line of scrimmage, and play aggressive man coverage. That’s exactly the kind of thing that defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard wants from his cornerbacks.
The Lions want to pressure quarterbacks, trust their corners on the outside, and make receivers fight for everything. Porter has gone more than 1,400 man coverage snaps without allowing a touchdown. That kind of ability gives Detroit the freedom to be much more aggressive with the rest of the defense.
Right now, it’s a big wait-and-see. The Steelers may decide to break their rule and try to get an extension done in=season. They’ve done it before with TJ Watt, but that is TJ Watt at the end of the day. Stay tuned; we’ll see what happens.
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