Pittsburgh Steelers urged to extend key defender prior to 2026 NFL season

Pittsburgh Steelers urged to extend key defender prior to 2026 NFL season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Before the Pittsburgh Steelers kick off the 2026 NFL season against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept 13.

, they're being urged to lock up a key contributor on the defensive side of the ball with an extension. That key contributor is Joey Porter Jr. Steelers urged to extend Joey Porter Jr.

before 2026 NFL season In a recent article for ESPN, Aaron Schatz named one move that every team needs to make before the onset of the '26 season and extending Porter was the mentioned move for Pittsburgh. Porter has just one year remaining on his current contract, and if he doesn't come to an agreement on an extension with the Steelers, he'll be an unrestricted free agent next offseason. "Porter was taken at the top of the second round in the 2023 draft, so he's coming to the end of his rookie deal.

There's no fifth-year option at play here, so the Steelers need to re-sign him now to keep him around," Schatz wrote. "Porter is a very talented cornerback who finished 10th in the league in my coverage DVOA metric last season. The problem is that Porter will want top-five cornerback money, and there isn't necessarily evidence that he belongs in that stratosphere.

Perhaps the Steelers can get him to agree to something that might be higher than they want to go but lower than what players such as Trent McDuffie and Sauce Gardner recently got paid." This story will be updated. More NFL news: Broncos' Bo Nix provides encouraging update amid right ankle recoveryGiants' John Harbaugh provides encouraging update on Malik NabersBaker Mayfield sends clear message regarding his future with Tampa Bay BuccaneersJared Verse gets brutally honest about trade from Rams to BrownsDallas Cowboys urged to trade edge rusher before start of 2026 NFL season