The Joey Porter Jr. contract extension was a key Pittsburgh Steelers offseason issue. Team management knew that it needed to get an agreement done. Yet we’re now in week two of the season, and Porter Jr. and the Steelers still haven’t agreed to an extension.
Contract extensions are a tricky endeavor unless you’re a cream-of-the-crop kind of player or a player who’s a depth piece. This still raises the question: is it worth it for Pittsburgh to not have extended Porter Jr. yet?
As a rookie, the former Penn State product more than lived up to his first-round pick of the second round billing. Porter Jr., by the end of his rookie year, was largely viewed as one of the premier young corners in the league. He recorded an overall coverage rating of +29.0, ranking 12th across the entire NFL.
Porter Jr. had even more impressive marks in man coverage success rate and catch rate allowed. He recorded a league-best 81.1% man coverage success rate and the fifth-best catch rate allowed at 47.5%. He allowed a passer rating of 75.9%, ranking 11th in the NFL for this season.
Most of the time, cornerbacks struggle their entire rookie year or start to adjust to the NFL level by the second half of their rookie season. The fact that Porter Jr. was this good that quickly was already a sign the Steelers hit on this premium draft pick.
Porter Jr., instead of moving in a positive direction the following year, took a step back from his impressive rookie season. Porter Jr. produced an overall coverage rating of +19,6, ranking 69th in the league.
Porter Jr. also took a big step backwards in man coverage success rate and catch rate allowed. He allowed the 18th-best man coverage success rate at 75.9% and gave up a 63.4% catch rate allowed, ranking 57th in the NFL. His passer rating allowed, while still good at 87.4%, was still a step down from his rookie season ranking 21st in the league. Porter Jr. went into his third year having to prove whether this year was a fluke or more of what to expect from him moving forward.
This past season, Porter Jr. bounced back massively. In man coverage, amongst all cornerbacks who faced at least 30 man coverage targets, he allowed a 35.3% completion percentage. This mark was the lowest in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.
Pro Football Focus graded Porter Jr. with a 76.6 coverage grade; not only was it the best of his career, but he ranked 13th among all qualified cornerbacks. He also tied for the fourth-highest pass breakups in the NFL with 13.
So far in his career, Porter Jr. has given the Steelers two good seasons and one murky season. Cornerback is a volatile position, and the former second-round pick giving them the production he has so far makes this seem like an extension should already be done.
Wednesday, it was reported that Pittsburgh head coach Mike McCarthy expected Porter Jr. to participate more in practice this week. On the following day, it was revealed by Brooke Pryor from ESPN that he left practice early with an athletic trainer.
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