The Pittsburgh Steelers made a lot of improvements to the secondary this offseason. They signed two starters for their secondary, as well as spending a third-round pick on a cornerback for the future.
Even with all of these changes to the secondary, the lynchpin was supposed to be Joey Porter Jr.
Porter was the name that fans expected to get a deal first this offseason. While Chris Boswell was the other obvious name, it felt like Porter would have gotten his deal sooner rather than later.
Instead, everyone else has received their deal, and Porter has been sitting out the entire summer. With the regular season about to begin, the Steelers may be forced to turn to another name for playing time early in the season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers may need to depend on Asante Samuel Jr. this year
While Porter's camp has teased the idea of a holdout or even demanding a trade, I don't expect either to occur. It feels like either Porter will get his new deal late in the process or play out the final year of his rookie contract. That may not be what either side wants, but this contract stalemate doesn't seem to be ending any time soon.
No matter what, Porter will be ready to see the field at some point this year. However, having not played all summer under a brand-new coaching staff could lead to some issues early on. Porter is a supreme talent, but there could be a delay in him getting up to speed.
With that in mind, using Asante Samuel Jr. early in the season could make sense. The Steelers got a lot of great play out of Samuel this summer, and he is an experienced veteran option. He has even outperformed top free-agent pickup Jamel Dean in many ways.
Samuel had a slow 2025 in Pittsburgh, but he was in the middle of recovering from a neck injury that was potentially career-threatening. He looked back to form during training camp and preseason. If Porter needs some time to ramp up and learn the system, Samuel should be the first option to replace him.
I would even consider this if Porter inks his new deal before the season starts and puts all of this contract drama to rest. New deal or not, I have serious concerns about him covering top wideouts immediately without a training camp. As good as Porter is capable of being, he can't possibly be fully ready by Week 1.
No, this wouldn't be a permanent benching, but while Porter learns the new system and gets the hang of things, Samuel should be the name to replace him.
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