On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will kick off their 2026 NFL season with a home tilt against the Atlanta Falcons. Out of that game will be star cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who is reportedly healthy enough to play despite dealing with a back injury, but has been sitting out of practice in hopes of securing a new contract with the team.

Now, additional reporting has come out about the state of those negotiations.

“Steelers are done talking contract w Joey Porter Jr and will not have further discussions about a new deal, per team sources,” reported Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on X, formerly Twitter.

It's unclear if this means that a trade is on the horizon for the Steelers, or if the team is content to let Porter Jr. sit out of the season and start fining him until one side finally blinks.

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Porter Jr. is one of the most important players on the Pittsburgh defense, consistently taking on some of the toughest matchups in the opponents' wide receiver room, which likely would have meant guarding Atlanta Falcons star Drake London on Sunday.

Instead, Mike McCarthy will have to navigate this fragile situation while also trying to get his team off to a good start to his debut season as the Steelers' head coach, taking over for Mike McCarthy, who departed at the end of last season.

In any case, after the Falcons' game, the Steelers' next contest will come next weekend on the road against the New England Patriots.