The NFL Power Rankings crowd was not kind to the Steelers following a win. In fact, the Steelers either stayed put or moved down across most boards. The Cardinals are considered a better team than the Steelers for the time being. Are the Steelers closer to the Browns or closer to the Bengals and Ravens? Cincy and Baltimore may be two of the better teams in football, but what we saw from Cleveland on Sunday may have that team getting set to draft 1st yet again. Poni brought up the Mike Tomlin comments on Sunday night making fun of the Browns despite that quote spurring before a game in which the Browns blew out the Steelers in the playoffs.
NFL reporter Ari Meirov from the 33rd Team joined the show. Ari said it’s pretty clear Joey Porter Jr. is not happy with his current situation in Pittsburgh. Ari pointed out that Porter will not miss out on game checks if the ‘back’ injury continues being used as a reason for him missing games. He doesn’t understand why the team waited so long to make Porter an offer when they have a long-standing tradition to not negotiate during the season. Ari isn’t sure about Porter’s future in Pittsburgh because it depends on how the team reacts. Ari explained how the Steelers do their deals a little bit differently than some other NFL teams and why guaranteed money is likely the sticking point to all of this. Ari said the asking price for Porter in a trade would be a 1st round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, but that offer has not come across their desk. Ari is having a hard time finding a team that is willing to trade a 1st round pick then giving Porter a new contract. Ari doesn’t believe there were many teams calling, but maybe a few will check in as the price gets lower. Ari said teams around the league believe Porter is a top tier man-to-man corner, but still don’t have him in the upper echelon with Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez. Ari thinks the market for Porter is in the ‘upper $20M range’ and it matches with Porter not requesting to be the highest-paid player at the position. Ari doesn’t consider him a Top 5 corner, but thinks he is in the Top 10. Ari believes the Lions would make sense as a trade partner due to their issues in the secondary, but he hasn’t heard about them making any sort of offer. Ari listed a few other teams that would make logical sense to call the Steelers about a trade.
Black & Gold Auction House – Round 5.
