Elite CB void

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Steelers have had only 2 real elite CBs in the past 50 so years including Mel Blount and Rod Woodson.

All others I out in to 'very good' to good category including Ike Taylor, Dwayne Washington, and Joe Haden. I categorize Carnell Lake as a strong safety but he was very good at corner when he stepped in

A big reason I believe is the dependency on a zone blitz scheme in the past not challenging CBs in a man to man.

It appears on the surface anyways that they are not taking the re-signing of Porter as a priority. Maybe the strategy is to franchise tag i don't know. Maybe they don't see him as elite not worthy of the big payday as he gets grabby at times.

Would they let Porter walk with recent block buster deals at the CB position? They never seem to prioritize signing this position for some reason.

I believe letting Rod Woodson go is up there in the mistake severity category with not drafting Dan Marino.

 

I. Elieve it’s a mixture of Porter wanting to be paid in top five for his position and the Steelers while the7 value him think his asking price doesn’t equate to his production yet. I hope both sides can come to an agreement as I think he could develop into maybe the third or fourth best cb here historically.

 

I have never believed the Steelers to make horrific mistakes due to money. Although I dont like how they handled Cam.

And even though my faith in ARII had dwindled, I think they will do the right thing.

ETA: Maybe the void we've had makes JPJ look better than he is????

 

I would like to see him stay, but only with a fair contract.

I fear he might be looking for a top 5 type contract. I feel like a contract between 5 and 10 would be more fair.

I recognize the potential to take the next step, and he is already shown good coverage skills, but still some bigger issues in his game needing correction (run defense, penalties, etc).

 

They have another year to evaluate him and I know that won't please him, so let's just hope he doesn't become a head case and plays his butt off for the next contract?

 

I have heard Marino had drug issues ( coke ) before he was drafted. But who knows what the deal was. Oddly enough he ended up in Miami at the peak of Miami Vice.

 

LoL

 

Marino being on coke would've still been better than what the Steelers had at QB post Bradshaw .

 

I thought the Steelers wanted Woodson to switch to safety, didn't he go to the 49ers and get cooked at CB eventually making the move to safety.

 

i think we may be sitting on the best overall group we have had in some time. even without porter. so that puts him at even more of a top 5 disadvantage than he thinks. ramsey can do many things quite well. dean ain't too shabby. samuel is pretty darn good. everette is up in the air so far but there is time. echols has played well in the slot. jamison is an up and comer and so is daryl porter. lots to like there even without porter. he needs to play and prove his worth or get passed by in my mind. if he wants that money then show what you got consistently. you show they will pay. sitting out while these others preform isn't helping his case.

 

I'd completely forgot we had Joe Haden.

I think while it's fair to say we haven't had many superstar CBs over the years, it's one of those positions where superstars come along a lot less often. Just trying to name some over the years, a lot more elite LBers or WRs come to mind than CBs... Sanders, Revis, Sherman, Ty Law, Champ Bailey, Lester Hayes, Darrelle Green... there's more I know, but they seem to be thinly spread across the years.

 

Likely some BS started to see if the Steelers would fall for it. JPJ JR is like his dad he wants to retire a Steeler. I cannot imagine him ever leaving this organization. JPJ is a Pittsburgh devotee. Steeler for life. Fans were upset over GP, imagine if they trade Joey away .

 

The post-Rod Woodson rules that prohibit touching a receiver beyond 5 yards are heavily enforced these days. As a result, the NFL no longer has elite cornerbacks the way the greats of the past dominated their position. Interceptions are at an all-time low. Blame fantasy football fans.

 

Porter Sr. left the Steelers, playing for Miami and then Arizona. Don't kid yourself, Jr. will go elsewhere, too, if it comes to that, for the sake of better $$$$.

 

I think it's basically the same timeline as TJ's 2nd deal.

The Pats have publicly announce that they intend to reset the CB market. And that deal still hasn't been signed yet as far as I know.

It would be silly for Porter to sign "early" if that deal wasn't yet signed. Because it will increase the value of his contract (even though he probably won't "beat" it).

If Porter signed at the beginning of the offseason, he probably would have cost himself several million dollars.

And like TJ, Porter has family members that have been through the process. So he knows how the system works. And unlike most pro athletes, Porter comes from a very wealthy family (assuming his Dad was half-way reasonable with his income). So he may be more willing to take the big swing here instead of the safe team-friendly road (like Benton just did).

Since this looks pretty much the same as TJ's 2nd contract, I don't think we can say that this is the Steelers making a decision to favor rush over coverage. That might be the case if a deal doesn't get done. Or it could be a deal not getting done could be that Porter has very high demands. Or - like you say - that we're not valuing the CB position highly enough.

TLDR; This is the expectation based on how contracts get done in the NFL. Through the whole thing, I've been saying that I think the most likely outcome is Porter signing at the last possible minute. The CB market had been too stale for a few years with big contracts coming up this offseason. Waiting is going to make the player a lot of money in that case.

 

Meaning you think they went too hard on him?

Cam has signed team-friendly deal after team-friendly deal.

Although he did complain a bit and get a token increase after another good year kicking father time's ass.

 

I think Cam is the only player I don't believe this about.

And the team knows it.

Which is why Cam loses every contract on basically every dimension. The flip side is Watt, who won every contract on every dimension.

I think Porter is going to be a lot more like Watt than Cam.

 

JPJ, Jr. reminds me of a guy that will hold out for the last dollar. I don't see this ending anytime soon or wrapped in a neat bow.

If (and it's a big if) we could get a #1 pick from a bottom feeder (i.e. J-E-T-S), I'd have to consider it, based on the supposed QB bonanza next draft.

But that is a big IF!

 

Didn't the Steelers cut him?

 

I just think he earned what he was asking for and they played the waiting game. Until he shows his age, pay him.

 

IIRC, he'd been making noise about holding out because he was unhappy. I think the Steelers would've worked things out with him if he'd indicated he would sign for reasonable money. I could be wrong about that, though.

 

at that point he wasn't as good as he thought he was either for what he was demanding and they let him walk. i see a lot of daddy's influence in on this.

 

I think they know that Cam is a super-fan of the Steelers. And they can just wait him out and he'll cave on everything. Because more than probably any player I can think of he wants to (1) be a one helmet guy and (2) wanted to get to enough sacks to put him in the HoF (currently at 92.0....chances probably go up a fair amount if he gets to 100).

Really hoping that he can get there. I don't really care much about the HoF anymore. But it seems very clear that Cam really, really wants it. And he's the best current definition of what it is to be a Steeler IMO.

 

Yep, I had the honor of chatting with him last year at camp and he is a truly good guy!

 

I forget the exact amount, but in 2025, the Steelers had somewhere around 63% of their money going to defense. McCarthy is an offense minded coach. We are going to see that number swing back towards the middle. We are not going to start that off by giving out a top 5 NFL CB contract. That would be going in the opposite direction. IMO, JPJ will get a contract somewhere around the 23 to 28 a year range. A spot that will get him into the 6th to 8th spot for CB pay. It will probably have a pretty good guarantee on it to sweeten the pot.