The Detroit Lions are not sitting still while their secondary tries to survive on fumes.
League sources have told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Detroit has already placed calls to Pittsburgh about Joey Porter Jr., a fourth-year corner whose combination of size, length, and competitive fire would immediately change the look of a defense that has given up the second-most passing yards in the league through two weeks.
That number is not a small statistical hiccup. It is the product of a unit missing too many pieces at once. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph remain on the physically unable to perform list.
Avonte Maddox is done for the year after a foot injury. The remaining corners and safeties have been asked to cover more ground than any group should have to cover this early in a season, and opposing quarterbacks have taken the invitation.
Adding Porter would not solve every coverage problem overnight, but it would give Detroit a true outside presence capable of matching bigger receivers and taking some of the heat off a depleted back end.
Pittsburgh is listening, which is the first necessary condition for any deal. The Steelers would demand a substantial return if they move a player they still view as a building block.
Porter has been seeking a new contract.
Pittsburgh does not negotiate extensions during the season, which leaves the door cracked for a trade if the right package appears. That is the tension Detroit’s front office now has to weigh.
Brad Holmes has shown he will spend draft capital and proven talent when the fit is right. A corner of Porter’s profile is rare on the trade market, especially one still on a rookie deal and theoretically available before the deadline crunch.
There is also the health question. Porter has not played this season while working through a lengthy ramp-up from a back injury.
He was limited in practice last week and listed as questionable for Pittsburgh’s game against Cincinnati. Any Lions interest has to account for that timeline.
A player who arrives still working back to full speed is less valuable than one who can step in immediately. Detroit cannot afford another project in a secondary that already has too many absences.
Even so, the inquiry itself tells you how the Lions see their roster. They are 1-1 and still built to contend in the NFC, but they cannot keep asking an incomplete secondary to hold up against the passing attacks still on the schedule.
Porter would give them a physical, long-limbed corner who can play on the boundary and compete on every snap. Whether Pittsburgh’s price and Detroit’s remaining assets can meet in the middle is the next question.
For now, the Lions have made it clear they are shopping for help where they need it most
