Steelers, Joey Porter Jr. Negotiations Reach Crunch Time

It's officially crunch time for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Joey Porter Jr. as the two sides look to lock in a new contract before Week 1 of the regular season. Where they stand now, things don't look too promising, but with NFL negotiations, everything can change in seconds, and the added pressure of the team's deadline could make that change happen in the coming days.

The Steelers and Porter Jr. have been the talk of the town for weeks as chaos, drama and plenty of headlines have surrounded the negotiations from both sides. Neither party seems to be shining a positive light on the situation, with reports and rumors swirling around about Porter Jr. not even receiving an offer yet, and the Steelers feeling it's unlikely they'll agree to a deal before their internal deadline.

For those wondering when that is, the Steelers do not negotiate with players during the season and will not break that for Porter. So, Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons is when they will close the door on a long-term contract with their star cornerback this offseason and wait until next spring to try again.

So, where do the two sides stand? How likely is a deal to get done? And what does a potential deal look like?

Let's dive into it.

Where Porter and Steelers Stand

While negotiations continue to go back and forth, the latest news on Porter and the Steelers negotiations wasn't great. Things didn't feel optimistic leaving the preseason and heading toward Week 1, and not because either side doesn't want to get something done, but rather because they were so far off on an agreement.

Porter's camp continues to leak that the Steelers haven't given him a formal offer, but those inside Pittsburgh's front office are well aware that numbers have been discussed and that Porter and his agent are aware of a deal the team feels comfortable with.

However, the Steelers probably won't budge much on their "offer," which puts the ball in Porter's court.

How Likely is a Deal to Get Done?

Truthfully, it's still pretty hard to tell. Following the signs will tell you that it's not very likely.

The Steelers believe they have a number for Porter and Porter clearly doesn't feel that number is accurate for his value. The problem is that Pittsburgh doesn't typically budge from their initial offers, which means they probably don't have much wiggle room to get closer to Porter's expected numbers.

Pittsburgh's numbers are probably below $30 million annually and $60 million guaranteed. Porter's are probably higher in both annual and guaranteed money.

BUT, and the all caps and bold font were needed, the Steelers tend to make these things work at the last second.

In recent years, Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt have signed deals during the final few days leading up to the regular season, which shows you that deals aren't dead until kickoff.

Porter could come down on his price and make something work, or the Steelers could reach one as a last-ditch effort to try and find middle ground.

Either way, the possibility of a deal happening is very possible. Even if it looks gloomy right now.

During crunch time of negotiations, anything is possible. So, keep your eyes peeled.