Sep 30, 2026 · 46 min · 11 segments
The Joey Porter Jr. uncertainty continues for yet another week. Jenna Harner and Mike DeFabo discuss what coach Mike McCarthy said about his star cornerback, and what to expect from him on Thursday…
Mike DeFaboHost
Jenna HarnerHostZach JacksonGuest
Uh, very interesting, we're gonna talk Joey Porter Jr. again because we have to at this point.
And it was very interesting, the teams so far, the injury report through the first two walkthroughs, you have to note that, of course, it's an estimation of the walkthrough.
But Joey Porter Jr. was listed as a full participant both Monday and Tuesday, and that's the first time that this has happened this season.
There, y- you have to wonder, I guess, a little bit, is there the potential for him to play here? I just, I, it doesn't seem likely to me, but also it feels more likely than it's ever been if it even does happen, if that makes any sense.
I mean, Mike McCarthy, we asked him and he said, "I hope." And I think that's maybe where the Steelers are at with this whole situation-
... is they're at the hoping phase of coming out of this with Joey Porter Jr. being a part of this football team.
I mean, if he misses this, they clearly did not anticipate it to go on this long.
Um, and you have to wonder where it goes from here, you know? The trade rumors are swirling at this point.
And the way that I look at it, if this truly is what I think it is, which is a contract standoff more than an actual injury, well, in that case, if the Steelers are unwilling to negotiate during the season, and if Joey has proven to you four separate times he's unwilling to play without this new contract, to me, the only way out of that potentially would be a trade.
And, and that's where I think that, unfortunately also, the Steelers have lost a lot of leverage because if the entire league knows you don't negotiate with players in-season, that means you can't negotiate yourself out of the mess that you've made.
And, and so really when the Dallas Cowboys or whatever team, fill in the blank, wants to call the Steelers and make an offer, you're negotiating against yourself.
And if the Steelers say, "No, that's not good enough," well, you know the Steelers aren't gonna solve their problem.
And, and I think we've, I feel like we've said it a couple times where it's, okay, what's the tipping point? This feels like the tipping point.
And we'll have to see what the injury report says for Wednesday, but if Joey Porter Jr. is listed as a full participant Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and he still doesn't play or he still isn't active on Thursday night against the Browns, then I think that this, to me, is kind of the true, like, okay, you have to decide on what you're going to do right now.
Yeah, so I did some digging on, like, what would be the other option other than a trade, okay? And people were saying, like, "Oh, you could put him on IR." Well, he still makes his money on IR.
Uh, very interesting, we're gonna talk Joey Porter Jr. again because we have to at this point.
And it was very interesting, the teams so far, the injury report through the first two walkthroughs, you have to note that, of course, it's an estimation of the walkthrough.
But Joey Porter Jr. was listed as a full participant both Monday and Tuesday, and that's the first time that this has happened this season.
There, y- you have to wonder, I guess, a little bit, is there the potential for him to play here? I just, I, it doesn't seem likely to me, but also it feels more likely than it's ever been if it even does happen, if that makes any sense.
I mean, Mike McCarthy, we asked him and he said, "I hope." And I think that's maybe where the Steelers are at with this whole situation-
... is they're at the hoping phase of coming out of this with Joey Porter Jr. being a part of this football team.
I mean, if he misses this, they clearly did not anticipate it to go on this long.
Um, and you have to wonder where it goes from here, you know? The trade rumors are swirling at this point.
And the way that I look at it, if this truly is what I think it is, which is a contract standoff more than an actual injury, well, in that case, if the Steelers are unwilling to negotiate during the season, and if Joey has proven to you four separate times he's unwilling to play without this new contract, to me, the only way out of that potentially would be a trade.
And, and that's where I think that, unfortunately also, the Steelers have lost a lot of leverage because if the entire league knows you don't negotiate with players in-season, that means you can't negotiate yourself out of the mess that you've made.
And, and so really when the Dallas Cowboys or whatever team, fill in the blank, wants to call the Steelers and make an offer, you're negotiating against yourself.
And if the Steelers say, "No, that's not good enough," well, you know the Steelers aren't gonna solve their problem.
And, and I think we've, I feel like we've said it a couple times where it's, okay, what's the tipping point? This feels like the tipping point.
And we'll have to see what the injury report says for Wednesday, but if Joey Porter Jr. is listed as a full participant Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and he still doesn't play or he still isn't active on Thursday night against the Browns, then I think that this, to me, is kind of the true, like, okay, you have to decide on what you're going to do right now.
Yeah, so I did some digging on, like, what would be the other option other than a trade, okay? And people were saying, like, "Oh, you could put him on IR." Well, he still makes his money on IR.
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