Jalen Ramsey returned to Pittsburgh Steelers practice on Monday and he had plenty to say about the ongoing Joey Porter Jr. contract situation. The veteran cornerback did not mince words during his press conference, telling the media, “We need the whole secondary out there.” Ramsey went a step further, saying the Steelers need to pay Porter. With the regular season less than three weeks away, the Steelers and their young cornerback remain at an impasse, and Ramsey’s public comments only add fuel to the fire surrounding one of Pittsburgh’s most important offseason storylines.

Ramsey takes Porter’s side

Do I agree with Jalen Ramsey? Absolutely. The Steelers need Joey Porter Jr. on the field, and Ramsey knows it. But the fact that he said it publicly is what makes this noteworthy. He’s essentially taking a stand against the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. Ramsey is a player-first guy, and of course he wants the entire secondary out there, but I did not expect him to come out and say it this directly.

The reason all of this talk is swirling is simple. The Steelers and Porter can’t come to terms on what his contract is going to look like. More specifically, based on everything we understand, the two sides can’t agree on his APY, or how much he’s going to make per year.

The gap between the 2 sides

Look at Devon Witherspoon’s recent extension, the largest deal for an NFL cornerback ever at $33 million per year. That tells me Porter probably wants to be somewhere in that $28 million to $30 million range. The Steelers, based on everything we understand, view him closer to $20 million to $25 million per year. That would still pay him among the top 10, if not the top five, corners in the NFL.

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Could a trade actually happen?

Jordan Schultz posted on X over the weekend that some teams are wondering if the Steelers are going to trade Porter. We broke down some mock trade scenarios on the site Monday morning because the speculation warranted the exercise. Do I think a trade actually happens? Absolutely not.

The bottom line is this. It’s getting to the point where if a deal isn’t going to get done, both sides need to put their swords down and focus on the season ahead, or they’re going to hurt each other. Pittsburgh needs Porter on the field, as Ramsey made clear. Porter needs to have a strong season if he wants to reach that lucrative number he’s chasing. It’s very much a push-and-pull situation, and neither side benefits from letting it drag into September.

Ramsey made his position known Monday. The question now is whether the Steelers front office is ready to close the gap before the regular season arrives.