On Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take the field at home for the first game of the 2026 NFL season against the Atlanta Falcons. Out of the lineup in this game will be star Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who has been holding out of practice at times in search of a new contract, as well as dealing with a back injury.

Some wondered if it was the injury, not the contract dispute, that had caused Porter Jr. to be ruled out vs Atlanta, but that does not seem to be the case.

“Joey Porter Jr. was ruled out for the Steelers' opener, but sources say he is healthy enough to play,” reported Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on X, formerly Twitter.

It's certainly not a great sign for fans hoping that the Steelers and their star cornerback were close to coming together on a new agreement, and it appears that the star is more than willing to carry his holdout on into the offseason if need be.

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Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is hoping that the reunion of Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers will help give the team a burst of energy after their recent cycle of strong starts, poor finishes, and ugly Wild Card round playoff losses that defined the end of the Mike Tomlin era with the team.

Having Porter Jr. back on the defense would help out in that quest.

In any case, the Steelers and Falcons are slated to kick off their respective seasons against one another at 1:00 pm ET.