The Pittsburgh Steelers have likely reached the point of no return with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. In head coach Mike McCarthy's words, the team was at an 'impasse' with Porter back in August, and relationships have only been further strained since then.
But now the Steelers have a more serious problem on their hands: there might not be a trade partner willing to give them what they're seeking.
The latest rumors suggest that the Steelers are seeking a second-round pick in return for their most valuable cornerback. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like any team is willing to meet the asking price.
Now the Steelers are stuck between a rock and a hard place—Porter refuses to play despite being deemed healthy, but they can't find a trade partner without taking the short end of the deal.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could be forced to come down on trade price or deal with the Joey Porter Jr. distraction all season
In theory, landing a star cornerback for a second-round pick seems like chump change—especially for any team hopeful to compete in the playoffs that year. But there's actually a very simple reason why the Steelers aren't getting what they want: no team wants to stomach the draft capital plus the lofty contract extension that will come with a Porter trade.
On Wednesday, ESPN's Dan Graziano offered an update on the Porter trade talks and claimed that teams aren't willing to give up a second-rounder and pay the cornerback north of $30 million per year.
“Teams have been calling but, as of yet, aren’t willing to offer enough in return to convince the Steelers to part with Porter and also sign him to the contract he wants. The consensus around the league seems to be that Porter is a good cornerback but not among the elites at the position.
If he wants to be paid north of $30 million per year, it may be hard to find a team desperate enough to offer him that and the Steelers the compensation they’re looking for.”
This is bad news for the Steelers, but it's not hard to make sense of.
After one great season, teams are worried about trading for a player who has essentially sat out since January. Not only would a receiving team have to give up elite draft capital, but they would also be forced to work out a long-term extension that would pay Porter over $30 million annually. And quite frankly, messing with sticky contract numbers isn't what most teams want to focus on this time of year.
While Porter is a household name who is able to be traded, the Steelers could be forced to come down on their asking price. Perhaps a 2027 third-round pick plus a future Day 3 pick would get a deal done.
Of course, if this is the type of deal we're talking about, why not just keep him?
A third-rounder certainly doesn't feel like enough for a true CB1 who happens to be one of the few lockdown man-coverage cornerbacks in the NFL right now.
At the same time, if the Steelers are not willing to come down on their asking price, they risk going the rest of the season with Porter being a distraction. The last thing McCarthy wants to do is answer questions about Joey Porter Jr. every week when he's trying to focus on his players who are contributing to the cause.
This situation was already ugly, and a trade felt like a last resort. Now, we don't even know if that will be possible without the Steelers getting ripped off.
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