On cusp of Steelers preseason finale, Joey Porter Jr. takes 1st-team reps

Savvy enough as the son of a former NFL player and aware of his status as a rookie, Joey Porter Jr. isn’t ready to announce lineup decisions.

“That,” Porter said after practice Tuesday, “is for the big man upstairs.”

Porter didn’t clarify if he was referencing Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin or an even higher power than that. But what Porter did exhibit is that he is preparing as if he’s a starter and was taking first-team reps during the final practice before the Steelers’ preseason finale Thursday.

“It worked out fine,” Porter said of playing with the first team defense. “Really, just (being) with the ‘1s,’ it’s just a lot of communication.

“They are not going to throw you in there if you don’t know what’s going on, so I really try to keep up on my part in everything I need to know so when those chances happen I will be in the right position.”

That chance during a live game might come as soon as Thursday, when the Steelers play at the Atlanta Falcons. Porter confirmed that he was the first-team left outside cornerback with veteran Patrick Peterson in the nickel/slot (and presumably other spots around the defense, as called for).

“That’s still Patrick Peterson,” Porter said out of admiration for the 33-year-old future Hall of Famer. “To this day, he can do a lot of things. It’s really up to coach what they want to do. I just know we’re going to be able to scheme it up and be ready.”

Drafted No. 32 overall out of Penn State, Porter ascending to a level where the coaching staff trusts him to play a heavy, starting-caliber role would be a boon in regards to the secondary falling into place in time for the regular season. That presumably would include Peterson moving inside and into more of a versatile, chess-piece type role.

Porter hasn’t shown anything during training camp to suggest he wasn’t ready to play a major role as a rookie, though the reps missed while he was out because of injury.

Though Porter did not play in the Steelers’ preseason opener at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he made his NFL game debut by playing 24 snaps during this past Saturday’s home preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. Porter had an interception and received the third-best grade of any cornerback who played in the game for either team in Pro Football Focus’ subjective evaluation.

Meant to be in the Black & Gold ???? @JoeyPorterJr

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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 19, 2023

“(The showing) definitely gave me confidence,” Porter said, “but even going out there going against (Steelers receivers Diontae Johnson and George Pickens) throughout camp I already had enough confidence that I could stick with anybody in this league just because they are the two of the top two guys in this league, at least in that conversation. So when I was out there with (Bills All-Pro receiver Stefon Diggs) and all those guys, I wasn’t nervous at all.”

Perhaps that’s because Porter is surrounded by some All-Pro types in his own secondary such as safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and Peterson, as well as other respected NFL veterans such as Levi Wallace. Porter has been earning their respect via his willingness to work on the field and in the film room, and Porter, in turn, has appreciated the counsel they’ve provided.

“All those great guys I have in my room, they’ve really helped me do this whole thing,” Porter said. “Trying to understand the schemes of things and how they want this defense run and I feel like without them I wouldn’t be here right now.”

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