Jalen Ramsey publicly calls on Steelers to pay Joey Porter Jr. amid contract impasse
Hours after Mike McCarthy labeled negotiations an impasse, Pittsburgh's star defensive back said the team has to compensate Porter and get him back on the field.
The Joey Porter Jr. standoff in Pittsburgh now has one of the Steelers' biggest voices pushing for a resolution. Jalen Ramsey, who practiced Monday for the first time this training camp after opening it on the physically unable to perform list, made his position plain when the subject of Porter's unresolved contract came up.
My Sports Update (@MySportsUpdate): #Steelers CB/S Jalen Ramsey called the team out to pay Joey Porter Jr. and get him on the field: “They got to pay Joey Porter … I'm overly in Joey's corner. Joey needs to get compensated for being a valuable part of this secondary and a valuable part of this defense and team.”
Ramsey's comments landed hours after head coach Mike McCarthy described talks between the team and Porter as being at an "impasse." The 2023 second-round pick remains on the PUP list in what amounts to a hold-in while he enters the final year of his rookie contract, a deal that pays him less than $4 million this season.
From here, the paths are familiar ones: Porter can take the Steelers' best offer on a multi-year deal, play out the final year of his rookie contract, keep sitting into the regular season, or push for a trade. The calendar adds pressure — Pittsburgh, as a matter of policy, does not do new deals once the season begins.