Joey Porter Jr. Expected to Miss Steelers' Week 3 Meeting With Bengals
The short version
- Joey Porter Jr. is reportedly unlikely to play against the Bengals in Week 3, per Tom Pelissero.
- Porter is listed as questionable and has missed Pittsburgh's first two games with a back injury.
- Plaxico Burress predicted Porter would be a healthy scratch against Cincinnati.
- A trade involving Porter remains a possibility, according to Pelissero.
The Pittsburgh cornerback, sidelined all season by a back injury, is reportedly unlikely to face Cincinnati at Acrisure Stadium despite being listed as questionable.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Joey Porter Jr. is not expected to suit up when his club welcomes the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3, per a report from Tom Pelissero. The game is set at Acrisure Stadium, and Porter carries a questionable designation on the official injury report.
According to Pelissero, Porter's recovery is moving in a positive direction and a return to action could come shortly. He also noted that a trade involving the defensive back remains on the table.
Former NFL wideout Plaxico Burress has weighed in as well, predicting that Porter will be held out as a healthy scratch for the divisional matchup.
Speaking on Sept. 24, Porter himself said he did not know if he would be cleared to take the field against Cincinnati. Even with his status unresolved, he stirred the pot by talking up a rivalry with Bengals receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. "It's always a good matchup with the Bengals and what they got over there," Porter said. "They're talent, and I always wanted to sharpen iron on iron. So definitely getting out there with those guys is always a good matchup."
A back injury has kept Porter off the field through Pittsburgh's opening two contests of the year. Now in his fourth professional campaign, all spent with the Steelers, he previously made headlines in Week 7 of last season, when he dragged down Higgins on a Joe Flacco throw during a Thursday night defeat at Paycor Stadium streamed on Amazon Prime Video and drew no pass-interference flag despite the fourth-quarter takedown.
Drafted by Pittsburgh in the second round out of Penn State in 2023, Porter hurt his knee the following year in a game against the Baltimore Ravens. In 2023, the league's official channels circulated footage of Chase making a remarkable reception over Porter — with a mouthguard still clenched in Chase's hand.
The family's ties to the AFC North run deep. Porter and his father, Joey Porter Sr., appeared in the second episode of "Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North." The elder Porter, once Pittsburgh's linebackers coach, declared he won't dine in Cincinnati, Baltimore or Cleveland because of how supporters in those cities regard him. He was fined $10,000 after a post-play altercation with Bengals defensive back Adam Jones — an incident that unfolded as Porter Sr. entered the field to tend to an injured Antonio Brown following a hit from Vontaze Burfict during Pittsburgh's 18-16 AFC Wild Card triumph in January 2016.
That playoff episode also helped shape league policy: the 2016 "Joey Porter rule" was among four rule changes, clarifications or reminders the NFL adopted in response to the Bengals-Steelers feud.
Fans can catch the Bengals visiting the Steelers on Sunday, September 27, at 1:00 PM EDT from Acrisure Stadium, with the broadcast on CBS.
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