The New York Jets just made Sauce Gardner the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, extending the 2022 No. 4 overall pick four-year, $120.4 million deal. The news could impact the Pittsburgh Steelers, as they will soon have to pay their own talented young cornerback in an expensive market.
Joey Porter Jr. isn’t quite on Gardner’s level just yet, though that has more to do with Porter’s struggle with penalties than his coverage skills. In three seasons, Gardner has allowed an average of 55% of the passes in his coverage to be completed for 469 yards and one score per season.
Porter Jr. has allowed 56% of passes to be completed for an average of 584 yards per season and has only given up one touchdown. Gardner also only has one more interception than Porter, with three in his career.
The Penn State product did take a bit of a step back in coverage in his second season, allowing 63% of passes to be completed compared to the 48% allowed in his rookie season. He gave up about 150 more yards, but again, he didn’t allow a single touchdown in 2024.
Pittsburgh Steelers' Joey Porter Jr.'s contract clock is already ticking
The Steelers may not have to give Porter $30 million per year like the Jets are with Gardner, but he will no doubt be among the highest-paid cornerbacks when it’s time for Omar Khan to give the legacy player a new contract.
Keep in mind, Gardner has only played in one more season than Porter and is already getting this extension. Gardner has a better league reputation as a generational shut-down corner, but Porter can very well find himself in the next tier of corners by this time next year.
Gardner still has two years remaining on his rookie deal, including his fifth-year option, so the Jets' move happened much sooner than the Steelers may have to. Of course, if Porter continues to play near Gardner’s pace as he has and cleans up his penalty issues, he could be looking for a quicker extension, too.
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Still, that could be made more difficult with Jalen Ramsey in town, and not because Ramsey has such a huge contract himself. If Ramsey steps in at cornerback, Porter could see most of the targets on a week-to-week basis. Even if Porter gets the No. 1 receiver more often, which is somewhat doubtful, he’s less likely to grab an interception than Ramsey, so opposing quarterbacks have a relatively easy decision to make between the two.
If that’s the case, Porter’s coverage stats might take a significant hit and prolong his wait for a new contract. Still, with the quick start to his career, Porter will no doubt earn a sizable contract extension sometime in 2026 or 2027.