Former Steeler sounds off on Joey Porter Jr.’s contract dispute

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Former Steeler sounds off on Joey Porter Jr.’s contract dispute

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Sep 19, 2026 4:01 PM ET

A former Pittsburgh Steelers player who knows a thing or two about contract disputes has some concerns over what the organization is doing with cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Porter and the Steelers are locked in a contract dispute that appears to be affecting the cornerback’s availability for games. Porter has missed the first two games of the season due to a back injury, but some are convinced that the injury is a ploy to avoid playing the holdout.

Regardless, former Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell feels the team is making the same mistake that it made with him.

“Man I hope the Steelers just pay JPJ .. at some point things gotta change,” Bell wrote on X.

man I hope the steelers just pay JPJ .. at some point things gotta change ..
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) September 19, 2026

Bell, of course, sat out an entire season as part of a contract dispute and eventually left to join the New York Jets. The running back was never the same after that, and later admitted he should have just taken the offer Pittsburgh put on the table. He is not explicitly saying Porter should do something similar, but he certainly thinks a lot of people are making the same mistakes all over again.

Porter has three NFL seasons under his belt. He has 165 career tackles and three interceptions in his career.

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