Omar Khan upholds Pittsburgh’s strict negotiation policy as star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. returns from injury, setting a high-stakes countdown for a massive contract extension before kickoff.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a long-standing tradition that is not expected to be broken this fall despite the front office struggling to finalize deals with a few key players before the start of the season.
On Sunday, Joey Porter Jr. activated off the physically unable to perform list before the Steelers finalized their initial roster of 53 players by the deadline. The cornerback missed most of training camp with a back injury.
Porter had every reason to want to be 100 percent before he took the practice field. He's negotiating for a new contract before the regular season. He could be paid near the top of the league for cornerbacks, if not the top cornerback, if negotiations go right.
On Monday, Steelers general manager Omar Khan told reporters that the team did not plan to budge on a long-standing tradition that negotiations stop at the start of the regular season.
"We won't talk publicly about the negotiations per se, but Joey knows how we feel about him, and I still hope Joey finishes his career here," Khan said, via ESPN. "... Our policy is going to remain in place, but I'm not going to talk about negotiations."
Now that Porter has been medically cleared by Steelers' medical staff, Khan anticipates the 2023 second-round pick returning to practice as Pittsburgh prepares to play its season opener at home against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 13.
"In the next couple of weeks, not just Joey, but anyone that we feel is healthy and available to us, we expect him to practice," Khan said. "He got taken off [PUP]. Our medical staff felt like he was good to go."
It remains to be seen if Porter intends to hit the practice field as the Steelers wish.
Last week, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said he and the coaching staff were ready to work with Porter before the regular season.
Porter is expected to be a key part of the defense for the upcoming season. There has been trade chatter surrounding the young cornerback, but the Steelers need their starting cornerback to help a veteran team make a push for the postseason.
