Joey Porter says he'll play for Steelers in '26 but when TBD

PITTSBURGH -- Speaking for the first time since he and the Pittsburgh Steelers failed to reach an agreement on an extension by the organization's regular-season deadline, Joey Porter Jr. said he is "definitely" going to play this season, but the exact date of his return to the field is still up in the air.

Following Thursday's practice, the cornerback responded, "yeah, definitely" each time when asked if he expected to play at some point and if he would play despite not getting a contract extension.

But when asked if he expected to play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Porter was noncommittal. "I think it's the same like how it's always been, just keep ramping up, keep doing what I can do and just be there for my teammates," Porter said of his expectations.

Amid contentious contract negotiations and a prolonged "ramp up" period, Porter was inactive for the first two games of the season. He was spotted on the sideline for the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons at home, and he traveled with the team to New England in Week 2.

Porter refuted reports Thursday that he requested a trade or sought a second opinion on his back injury, one that dates back to the first day of training camp.

Porter was placed on the physically unable to perform list on training camp report day after aggravating his back during a mobility workout. He was activated to the 53-man roster Aug. 30, but he hasn't yet been a full participant in practice.

At times, Porter's injury description on the practice report has listed a back injury, while others have included only "Not Injury related- conditioning." A week ago, Porter was limited in Wednesday's practice with a designation of "Not Injury Related- conditioning." The next day, however, Porter left practice early with an athletic trainer, and "back" was added to his injury designation.

Porter was once again limited on Wednesday and Thursday this week, and his injury designation returned to "Not Injury Related - Conditioning." Asked if conditioning or the back injury was the primary roadblock to playing Sunday, Porter said it was both.

"My back has its moments where [there's] a flare-up here and there," Porter said. "And we're still just trying to get my conditioning down to just me being out there as much as possible. So, it's really just both."

Asked if he felt his conditioning was at a level where he could play in the game Sunday, Porter responded that he was unsure.

"I don't know," he said. "We still got two more days to practice, so I mean we could figure that out sooner in the week. I just know I did everything today and it went smooth, so we're going to just keep working."

Asked about Porter's participation prior to Thursday's practice, coach Mike McCarthy said Porter was on schedule.

"Joey's scheduled to do some more today, so we'll see how that goes," the coach said. "But I thought he had quality work yesterday, hit the target on what was planned for."

Porter added that he anticipated playing limited snaps whenever he does make his season debut, and he said that he's been following a return-to-play protocol set by the coaches.

"Probably most likely since it'll be the first game back," he said of playing on a snap count. "But it's really the game plan that they have up there, and we're just going to stick with it."

Porter grinned when asked if he was especially motivated to return for Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals because of his past battles with wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase.

"It's always a good matchup with the Bengals and what they got over there, their talent," Porter said. "And I always want to sharpen iron on iron. So definitely getting out there with those guys is always a good matchup."

He also added that his familiarity with the receivers and the offense could make it easier for him in the ramp-up process.

"Yeah, I've played them six times, Tee and Chase five times each because they both hurt one time out of the six," he said. "But yeah, I feel like I have a good indication on those guys and what they like to do, and I never really struggled against them, so it's always been fun for me getting out there with them."

Despite Porter's long ramp-up period and the noise and drama associated with a contentious contract negotiation, Porter insisted that there hasn't been any strain between him and his teammates. During Porter's interview Thursday, safeties DeShon Elliott and Jaquan Brisker walked by the media scrum and voiced their support for Porter.

Elliott yelled, "We love you, Joey!" While Brisker, who was also teammates with Porter at Penn State, said, "You're the King of the North, tell them you're the King of the North. CB1!"

"I love all my guys, and my guys love me, too," Porter said. "They're here for me, and I'm there for them. I'm just trying to be a good motivator to all the young guys and even the OGs in here."