Joey Porter Jr. is apparently available via trade. The Lions have a need for a No. 1 corner. Is there a deal to be made with the Steelers?
"He is a very good player with a contract situation that’s a mess, they’re obviously at an impasse, it’s been in a not great place for a while," NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday on the Pat McAfee Show. "So does someone step up and say, 'We need a really good corner, these guys are hard to find, I’m going to trade for him?' Pittsburgh has been open to trading him. The interest, based on their price, has not been there yet."
Porter Jr. wants a new contract as he enters the final year of his rookie deal, and missed all of training camp with what the Steelers are calling a back injury. He did not dress for the team's season-opener. The two sides are said to be far apart in negotiations, which the Steelers don't even entertain during the season, with Porter Jr. likely seeking top-of-the-market money at his position.
Star corners Christian Gonzalez of the Patriots, Devon Witherspoon of the Seahawks, Trent McDuffie of the Rams and Denzel Ward of the Browns all signed new deals this offseason worth more than $30 million per year.
"The Steelers have said that Joey Porter Jr is ramping up and then there's the contract part of it..
There are some teams that need corners and he's a very good player..
Pittsburgh has been open to trading him..
I would keep an eye on the Chiefs and Lions"@RapSheet #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/mJEgXxhzlO
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 15, 2026
The Steelers are believed to be asking for a first-round pick in return for Porter Jr., at least a second-rounder. Per Rapoport, the Lions and Chiefs are two teams to watch. The Lions just cleared lots of immediate cap space by restructuring the contracts of Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown, but that wouldn't make it any easier for them to fit Porter Jr. into the budget in the years ahead.
The Lions have already committed more than $1 billion to 10 core players and are planning extensions for pending free agents Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch. Unless Brad Holmes decides to let one of those players walk, it's hard to see how the Lions would find the future cap space for Porter Jr. He's not going somewhere he's not getting paid.
Asked Tuesday if he anticipates the Lions making a big move this season with their newly created cap room, Dan Campbell said, "Yeah, I don't see that. I would say this though, it gives us options. Whether that be our own guys or (imports), it just gives us flexibility here as the season starts because there's a lot that can happen (along the way)."
Porter Jr. has been one of the top corners in the NFL since he arrived as a second-round pick in 2023. He's coming off a season in which he allowed the second lowest passer rating in coverage (56.2) and the fifth lowest completion percentage (48.3%) in the league, per PFF, and had a career-high 14 passes defended. He's thrived in man coverage.
The on-field fit with the Lions is impossible to deny, especially after their starting corners D.J. Reed and Rock Ya-Sin were exposed at times in Week 1. The fit on paper just doesn't square with the way Holmes and Campbell have built their roster. Porter Jr. would cost the Lions the kind of premium draft capital they're loath to relinquish and his next deal would almost certainly cost them one (or two) of their core players.
It's not saying they shouldn't make a deal for Porter Jr. It's just saying they almost certainly won't.
