The Pittsburgh Steelers still will not talk contract once the regular season begins, general manager Omar Khan said Monday, closing the window on a new deal for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. before the team’s opener.
Khan made the point while discussing roster cuts, practice-squad additions and the 53-man roster heading into Week 1. He said the club’s longstanding policy remains in force.
That policy dates to team president Art Rooney II taking over in 2003. For years it has been understood around the league that Pittsburgh does not negotiate after the season starts.
The situation with Porter had led some to wonder whether the Steelers might bend the rule. The team has shown little real interest in trading the young corner.
Khan shut down that speculation. If his comments stand, the deadline is kickoff on Sept. 13, when the Steelers host the Atlanta Falcons at Acisure Stadium.
The two sides still look far apart. Head coach Mike McCarthy said last week the Steelers are at an impasse with Porter.
A long-term contract could still get done in the next two weeks. It is just as possible the stalemate lasts and hangs over the entire 2026 season.
Part of the gap is how the team values Porter. Pittsburgh sees a productive player who has not made a Pro Bowl in three seasons and does not believe he should reset the market.
Porter has watched comparable corners land large deals this offseason and wants a similar payday.
Porter, 26, finished the 2025 season with 52 total tackles in 14 games. He added 14 pass deflections and one interception.
He is two years removed from his best year. In 2024 he posted a career-high 70 combined tackles, 53 of them solo, two tackles for loss, seven pass breakups and an interception.
As a rookie he recorded 43 tackles.
If the Steelers refuse to move, Porter will have to come toward their number. If he will not, the relationship could end after the 2026 season, even if a trade is not the first option now.
Any eventual trade would carry extra weight for fans. Porter is the son of former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter Sr., a four-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion in Pittsburgh.
Supporters hoped the younger Porter would match or exceed that success when the team drafted him in the second round out of Penn State in 2023 and brought him home.
The Steelers recently activated Porter off the physically unable to perform list, putting him back in position to play if a deal is reached or if he reports under his current contract.
For now the calendar is simple. Negotiations end when the ball is kicked off against Atlanta. After that, the franchise’s rule takes over, just as it has for more than two decades.
