Saga involving Steelers, Joey Porter Jr. takes new twist ahead of Patriots game

At the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice on Thursday, it was unclear whether or not cornerback Joey Porter Jr. would play for Pittsburgh in this coming Sunday's game at the 0-1 New England Patriots.

There's now reason to believe that Porter won't take the field at Gillette Stadium for the Week 2 clash. 

Joey Porter Jr. may have made a new business decision

As Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly of "The Pat McAfee Show" shared, Porter "left the opening portion of practice today with the head trainer." Subsequent videos seemed to show Porter "struggling" while on the practice field before his afternoon ended prematurely. 

Porter spent the bulk of August on the physically unable to perform list due to a back injury that many believe would improve if he received a contract extension. He didn't play in Pittsburgh's 20-13 Week 1 victory over the Atlanta Falcons for reasons related to that supposed back issue.

A recent report revealed that "the Steelers and Porter reached an impasse over the guaranteed money in his contract," and the club's well-documented policy of not negotiating with players during a season would lead one to believe he won't be getting a new offer from his current employer anytime soon. 

While stories published throughout the week have linked Porter with a handful of clubs, the Steelers reportedly do not want to trade him "and are not shopping him to teams."