The Pittsburgh Steelers listed only one player on their initial Week 1 injury report, and it was the player whose availability already felt the least certain. Joey Porter Jr. was limited Wednesday by the back injury that cost him most of training camp, adding another concern to Porter’s ramp-up status before Sunday’s opener against the Atlanta Falcons.
Pittsburgh’s official participation report is otherwise clean -- great news for a roster that had several notable players, like DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr., miss time during camp/preseason. But it also makes Porter’s name difficult to dismiss as routine.
A limited Wednesday practice doesn’t mean the 26-year-old will sit. It does mean he hasn’t reached full participation with only two practices remaining before the season begins.
Joey Porter Jr.’s limited workload creates a problem for Pittsburgh’s secondary
Porter returned to practice last week after spending most of the summer on the physically unable to perform list. He’s trying to regain football conditioning while learning a new Patrick Graham defense. Those responsibilities make his practice workload more important than it would be for a veteran who had completed a normal camp.
The Steelers can survive one game without Porter, especially against a Falcons team that named a quarterback who struggled at camp and in the preseason as its starter. Asante Samuel Jr. is listed alongside him as a possible starter opposite Jamel Dean, while Jalen Ramsey gives Graham another experienced coverage option.
Pittsburgh has alternatives, but none lets Graham deploy the secondary exactly as intended. Moving Ramsey outside more often would reduce the freedom Pittsburgh has to use him at safety, nickel or in matchup-specific assignments. His return gave the Steelers leverage during Porter’s contract impasse, but replacing Porter would still require adjustments throughout the secondary.
Atlanta named Tua Tagovailoa its starter after a summer that left its fans feeling ill. The Steelers have already examined how Tagovailoa’s Falcons situation could favor Graham’s defense, but his quick release puts pressure on cornerbacks to handle timing routes cleanly. Communication and technique become harder to trust when one of the starting corners has barely practiced.
Friday’s designation will provide the useful answer. A full practice would settle most of this concern. Another limited session, or a downgrade to out, would leave Pittsburgh deciding whether a reduced version of Porter is better than opening the season with Samuel outside and Ramsey covering the remaining gaps.
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