With contract disputes looming and limited practice reps, Mike McCarthy demands urgency from Joey Porter Jr. as the Steelers' season opener against the Falcons approaches.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have one player listed on their injury report for Week 1 as they prepare to play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who was placed on the PUP list during training camp for a back injury, was listed as a limited participant for Wednesday's practice. The injury comes amid Porter wanting a new contract extension before the start of the season.
The Steelers listed Porter as having a back injury.
Pittsburgh head coach Mike McCarthy was blunt about Porter's status both for this week during practice and for Sunday's game. He wants to see the cornerback participate more in practice on Wednesday than he did on Monday.
"Hopefully today he'll do more work than he did Monday," said McCarthy, via the Steelers.
Pittsburgh expects everyone to be available to play the Falcons, including Porter.
"We're healthy," said McCarthy. "I don't really expect anybody to have a hard time getting ready... We game planned for Atlanta expecting everyone to play.
"We want to use the resources. I know we're new at this. I have a board, and all healthy names are on the board. You have projections of what your 48 are going to be."
In August, Steelers general manager Omar Khan said he hoped to keep Porter in Pittsburgh, but he did not want to talk about any negotiations. Khan expected Porter to practice after the Steelers medical staff believed he "was good to go."
"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."
The limited designation is a good sign the Steelers believe he'll be available to play the Falcons on Sunday.
It remains to be seen if Porter feels the same way, either about his back or about his current rookie deal.
Earlier this week, Christian Gonzalez signed a record deal with the New England Patriots. That deal could put a further bridge between Porter and the Steelers before Sunday.
