Steelers Not Planning to Start Joey Porter Jr.

PITTSBURGH — Steelers cornerbacks have not had a fun time against receivers so far this year. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin took accountability for those players going off on the Steelers’ secondary, but does that mean it is time for Joey Porter Jr. to start? According to Austin, that answer is no, not right now.

“No, not yet,” Austin said. “He’s working hard, I like the way he’s working. He’s making strides, but is he ready for a full-time look right now? I’m not sure I can say that I really feel great about that yet. But he’s working in the right direction, trending in the right direction, and at some point, we expect him to be out there.”

However, why is it not Porter’s time? Austin peeled the curtain back on that a little bit, too. Some of it is because Joey Porter Jr. is acclimating to the NFL first with a limited menu of coverages. Austin does not want to throw Porter to the wolves without a defined plan set in place for him. It seems they have the plan there to start him at some point, but it’s far too early for that in Austin’s head.

“I think it’s always different to come into the league and just start and learn it and then just thrust you into the starting lineup,” Austin said. “I think that’s a different animal. I want to be pretty sure he’s ready to handle all of that because I don’t want to throw him in there and not have the success we all envision for him.”

Pittsburgh’s struggled to contain top-flight receivers. Austin said that it is about containing guys and identifying who they are before the play. Some of it is schematic, while some of it remains a huge question, here are some of the facts and stat lines put up against the Steelers:

Week 1: Brandon Aiyuk 8 rec. 129 yds, 2 TD

Week 2: Amari Cooper 7 rec. 90 yds

Week 3: Davante Adams 13 rec. 172 yds, 2 TD

Week 4: Nico Collins 7 rec. 168 yds, 2 TD

Simply put, that’s not good enough. The veterans were there for security and experience but busted coverages and extended plays remain under their watch. At this point, there is very little reason to not play Porter moving forward outside of sub-packages. He’s earned that.