Steelers' McCarthy noncommittal on Porter's timeline to return

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  Brooke PryorSep 14, 2026, 04:37 PM ET

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  Brooke Pryor is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. She previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and the University of Oklahoma for The Oklahoman.

PITTSBURGH -- A day after opting to hold Joey Porter Jr. out of the season-opening win against the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy was noncommittal on the cornerback's timeline to return to game action.

Asked if Porter Jr., who missed training camp with a back injury he aggravated during a mobility workout on report day, would need more than this week to complete his "ramp-up" period, McCarthy said the plan was to increase Porter Jr.'s workload beginning with Wednesday's practice.

"Hopefully we'll have a good plan for him on Wednesday, and hopefully we'll do more," McCarthy said Monday. "That's the outlook. So yeah, hopefully we move forward more volume of work. That would be my anticipation."

Once the ramp-up period is over, McCarthy said, he expects Porter Jr. to play. Porter Jr.'s next opportunity to get on the field is Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots.

Porter Jr., 26, has been embroiled in a contentious contract negotiation throughout the offseason, and it ended with the two sides not reaching a deal by the Steelers' regular-season negotiating deadline. The possibility of a trade lingers -- as does using the franchise tag on Porter Jr. before he reaches free agency during next offseason -- but the Steelers have neither made nor received trade calls on the 2023 second-round pick.

Porter Jr. was on the sideline for Sunday's game, but McCarthy decided to make him inactive in large part because his conditioning wasn't ready for a game.

"My concern for Joey, obviously, is to get him to a spot no different than everybody else in training camp," McCarthy said. "The first players that go through that first ramp up period that are not ready to go -- they don't participate fully in a padded practice. So I don't really see this any different than that. Now it is different that there's a business component to it, and that's really a whole 'nother topic.

"As far as Joey's participation in practice, he's communicating with the trainer every day. He's communicating with the strength and conditioning coach. ... we'll get him out there when he's ready to go through a full practice."

McCarthy added that he isn't concerned that Porter Jr.'s business situation will become a distraction. "Hey, we're preparing to go win our first away game," the coach said. "I think I've answered your questions. Hopefully he gets a step further being ready to play and the business situation will be a business situation. This is the most I've frankly ever talked about a business situation, so I think I'll stop right here."

Without Porter Jr., the Steelers almost exclusively used zone coverage. But defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said his scheme varies week-to-week based on the opponent. Once Porter Jr., who excels in man coverage, returns to the field, Graham's scheme will adapt to include his skillset. And, as Graham pointed out Monday, Porter Jr.'s traits can also be effective in zone.

"Joey's 6'2", 6'3" and long and plays a good length," Graham said. "He can play zone, man, it doesn't matter to me when you watch the tape. He's a good football player. ... Anytime you add new players to what we're going to do, I take that into consideration."