The Joey Porter Jr. situation lingers, with no end in sight

With the Steelers facing the Bengals this weekend — and receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins — it would be helpful to have cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on the field.

>Yet again, it appears he won't be playing. And the situation seems to be settling into a week-to-week lather/rinse/repeat of limited practice time (if any) and no game appearances.

>On Wednesday, coach Mike McCarthy wasn't even asked about Porter during the midweek media availability. On one hand, it's easy to justify the absence of a question by assuming that it would have promoted the same-old response about being optimistic he'll play (or whatever). On the other hand, the questions badly need to change.

>How frustrating is it that no progress is being made?

>Is injured reserve being considered?

>Do the Steelers believe Porter is actually injured, or do they suspect he is declining to play because he doesn't have a contract?

>No one wants to call this what it is. It's a hold-in that has lingered into the season. Porter is doing what former Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons was ready to do in 2025. Once the Cowboys realized it was going to go that way, they quickly traded Parsons.

>For the Steelers, there are only two ways out of this maze. Pay him, or trade him.

>Playing hardball is possibly becoming harder to accomplish each week, since the Steelers are publishing injury reports that represent to the world that Porter is injured. (Today, the stated reason was "conditioning.") If, at some point, the Steelers suddenly say "enough," they may have to answer for weeks of possibly embellished injury reports.

>Either way, it could get ugly if/when the Steelers decide to squeeze Porter to play. At some point, however, the situation becomes sufficiently obvious to be ridiculous.

>It's arguably already at that point.

>And, again, there are only two good ways to fix it. Pay him, or trade him.