What is the latest with Joey Porter Jr? He practiced, to some degree, today as the Steelers are 11 days away from the opener against the Falcons. Is he going to sit out due to the ‘back’ injury? The issue for Peezy is that he has very little leverage in this spot. The Steelers have him under contract and could even franchise tag him next season. Poni brought up Chris Jones sitting out the Chiefs’ opener a few seasons ago, which resulted in a loss. Will the Steelers end their longtime tradition of no negotiations in-season?
Ron Faherty of 1st Out Specialty Vehicles & Equipment joined the show. Ron told Poni about his extensive bourbon collection. Ron then talked about the importance of volunteer fire departments/firefighters in his life. Ron’s company is a major sponsor for the event. Ron went over the costs for local VFD’s and what they have to work with on a daily basis.
Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Mike explained why he hates the longtime Steelers rule that they cannot negotiate with a player in-season if they are in the midst of a contract dispute. Mike said it puts the Steelers on a timeline that no other team in the league uses. Mike got into what Micah Parsons did to the Cowboys last year that put the team in a very tough spot, which involved having an ‘injury’ during contract talks. Mike believes the only way out of this for the Steelers, if Joey Porter Jr. does not play regular season games, is to trade the player. Mike does think this is an interesting case because Porter is represented by the same agency as Christian Gonzalez. Will the NFL PA ever push back against the franchise tag if they hate it so much? Will the national media or local media be right with how the Porter situation plays out?
