The Pittsburgh Steelers are planning for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to return next Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Sunday, but a lingering back problem could still keep him out.
Porter has missed the first two games. Pittsburgh ruled him out for Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET game at New England after he was limited in practice all week.
His back has flared up every time he has tried to go full speed, a source told ESPN, and the team has not been able to get it where it needs to be. Porter has been considering a second opinion.
The results would help decide whether he lines up across from Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
The injury traces to the first day of camp.
Porter reported an aggravated back injury after a mobility workout July 28. He went on the physically unable to perform list and missed all of training camp.
The team said he was cleared of that injury early this past week. On Wednesday’s report, he was limited with a “not injury related” conditioning designation. By Thursday, the report listed a back injury, and Porter left practice early with an athletic trainer.
Coach Mike McCarthy held him out of the Week 1 opener against the Atlanta Falcons because he had not finished his ramp-up period. Asante Samuel Jr. played all 60 defensive snaps in his place.
The Steelers took Porter with the first pick of the second round in 2023. He came off the bench for the first six games of his rookie season. Since then, he has started all 41 games he has been healthy for.
Last season, he recorded a career-high 14 passes defensed along with an interception, a sack and 52 tackles.
He is 26 and in the final year of his rookie contract.
A source told ESPN this week that Porter is fired up about playing Cincinnati. McCarthy declined to give specifics on his timeline before Sunday’s game.
“I’m with Joe, whatever he’s doing — whether it’s injury, whether it’s contract, whatever it is, I respect it,” Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen said Thursday. “I’m behind him 100 percent. I tell him every single time, ‘I respect how you go about your business every single day.'”
Should the back flare up again, Samuel would stay in the lineup as a starter. The Bengals visit Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. ET. Four days later, Pittsburgh plays at Cleveland on Thursday, Oct. 1.
