Porter Jr. Unlikely vs Falcons Week 1

Joey Porter Jr. is unlikely to play Sunday when the Atlanta Falcons visit the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, sources told ESPN and NFL Network, as a back injury and a stalled contract fight collide on opener weekend. Pittsburgh also elevated Doneiko Slaughter from the practice squad Saturday, a move that fits an inactive corner on game day.

That is the update Steelers fans did not want taped to the locker room door. Porter spent camp on the physically unable to perform list with a back issue, then ramped through limited practices this week. Steelers coach Mike McCarthy said Porter is working through the ramp-up stage, with conditioning and readiness still the focus after a summer without practices. The business reason never left the building either.

Back, ramp-up, and a closed negotiation window

Porter told reporters he would have to talk to the guys upstairs and his agents about Week 1 availability. Pittsburgh does not negotiate contracts once the regular season starts, and the two sides stayed far apart after talks that ran into the day before the opener. Four other young corners (Trent McDuffie, Denzel Ward, Devon Witherspoon, and Christian Gonzalez) cleared deals north of $30 million per year this offseason. Porter has watched Nick Herbig, Keeanu Benton, and Darnell Washington get extensions while his own talks stayed cold until late.

Asante Samuel Jr. is the next man up if Porter sits, with an elevated role against Atlanta's receivers. Samuel joined Pittsburgh midseason last year after spinal fusion clearance. Slaughter's elevation adds another body for a secondary that already has questions at the top of the depth chart. Fantasy IDP rooms that stashed Porter as a CB1 streamer should treat Sunday as a scratch until the inactive list says otherwise.

Trade door still open

Sources say Porter previously requested a trade and remains open to playing elsewhere. An early-season deal is very possible. Pittsburgh is listening, but the ask is a premium draft pick (possibly a first), and no serious offers have landed yet. Once Week 1 injuries hit around the league, that market can move fast.

Porter still framed the standoff as business when asked whether it changed his desire to stay long term. He said he has his head straight on that part. Asked earlier in the week about the ticking clock before kickoff, he said the team would prepare either way and still want to play ball. Fans who only check the board once a day just got the loudest secondary headline of the weekend: unlikely for the Falcons, and maybe not a Steeler by October.

Falcons at Steelers in Pittsburgh is the venue. Porter's back and the closed window are the story. Check the inactive list before you lock your DFS lineup, then watch whether the trade phone starts ringing once other corners go down.