FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Don’t expect the ongoing saga between the Pittsburgh Steelers and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to end quietly.
The latest report over the weekend by Adam Schefter of ESPN shows the two sides on yet another collision course this week.
Schefter reported that Porter is set to seek a second opinion on his back injury, while the Steelers are expecting him to be able to play this Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. and Joey Porter Jr. at practice on Sept. 16, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Porter first claimed he had a back injury after the team’s run test on the first day of training camp, and the Steelers publicly went along with it, but also took the unusual step of putting him on the physically unable to perform list.
Every hold-in is, at its core, a player lying to his team about being injured. That’s the only way those players can avoid mandatory fines by reporting to team practices and meetings, but refusing to perform physically.
So the Steelers were sort-of going along with what Porter was saying, but they never put T.J. Watt or Cam Heyward or Diontae Johnson or any other player that was refusing to participate on the PUP list. So clearly, they were treating this a little bit differently.
Again, entering the regular season, the Steelers insisted the the sole reason that Porter didn’t play in Week 1 was because Mike McCarthy and his staff didn’t think he was ready to play after missing over a month of practices.
Last week, Porter claimed that his back flared up once again in practice, not even an hour after McCarthy said that he was expecting something close to full participation from Porter. The Steelers put the back injury back on Porter’s injury report, and this time, McCarthy acknowledged that the back injury was the reason that Porter didn’t play against the Patriots.
The Steelers have, to this point, publicly — and more importantly, transactionally — gone along with everything that Porter has said about his back.
So why would he need a second opinion? You get a second opinion when you disagree with what the team’s doctors are saying, not if they’re agreeing with what you claim.
The only reason that Porter would need a second opinion is if the team is gearing up to say that Porter needs to play this Sunday, or they’re going to fine him because they don’t believe he’s actually injured.
How does that play out? If the Steelers don’t believe that Porter is injured, they would then begin to fine him for failing to take part fully in practices — up to $14,650 per day — and could withhold a game check — $218,000 — if he refuses to play.
At that point, Porter’s second opinion would likely be intended for a legal argument to be made through a grievance. The NFLPA usually argues on behalf of the players in such grievances against teams, which will be ruled on by an arbitrator.
The NFLPA recently lost an arbitration hearing with the league based on giving players advice to fake injuries to create a loophole against anti-holdout provisions in the CBA, with the arbiter ruling in 2025 that the union violated the CBA by advising players to fake injury.
As part of that process, the league did not allege that any player had actually faked an injury — even though that practice is common. But this could be setting up the union and the league for another battle on that same turf, and this time there could be an actual exemplar.
You thought the Porter situation with the Steelers was messy? Just wait if that’s the road this goes down.
WHAT’S WITH ‘HERKY-JERKY’ PLAY-CALLING?
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy during a game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 13, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Through each of the first two weeks, Steelers head coach and offensive play-caller Mike McCarthy has been critical of his own performance in dialing up the correct offensive plays for the situation.
“I thought the play caller on offense was herky-jerky,” McCarthy said last Monday after the Steelers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 20-13. “I didn’t think I did a great job getting the players into a rhythm at certain parts of the game. I thought we had some really good sequences where it looked like we were getting ready to take off, but my experience in the league, it’s unfortunately the way it goes in September.”
On Sunday, Aaron Rodgers piled on with saying that the play-calling was a factor.
“In a game like today where there wasn’t a lot of flow to it, we need to be better, and that starts with me at making sure Mike knows what’s working, what’s not working, our coaches know, so we can call stuff that we feel like has a better chance,” Rodgers said.
McCarthy acknowledge once again that he felt his own performance wasn’t up to par.
“The offense needs to be better. Mike McCarthy needs to be better.”
But that doesn’t really explain why the play-calling has not been smooth. After all, McCarthy has been doing this a very long time. Why would he suddenly be struggling to call his own offense?
Part of the reason is that he’s trying something new this year. When the Steelers brought in offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio from the Minnesota Vikings, they were tapping into one of the NFL’s hottest coaching trees and latest trends.
Angelichio coached with former Sean McVay offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell when he was with the Vikings, where they used a highly modified version of McCarthy’s West Coast offense that frequently included two and three tights ends for a large advantage in running the ball. While McVay, O’Connell, Kyle Shanahan and other in that tree probably get the most attention for the work they’ve done with quarterbacks, they’re quietly some of the best rushing offenses in the league, as well.
McCarthy was trying to tap into that — and likely to get the most out of the Steelers personnel, which features two high-quality tight ends in Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, and not an overwhelming amount of talent at the wide receiver position.
It’s a good idea, but it’s also new to him, and new to the players. The Steelers also swapped the sides of their two most consistent offensive linemen from 2025, and so it makes sense that there’s more-significant growth curve than one might have otherwise expected for the Steelers rushing offense, which retains most of its personnel from 2025.
INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM
I skipped McCarthy’s press conference on Sunday, which I hate to do. But he was taking a very long time to get to the podium, and I was worried that the locker room would be empty if I waited for him. That mean that Brendan and I were able to get every single Steelers offensive linemen, which went into his fantastic post-game story and my takeaways.
I also gathered up some other info that I’ll combine for one segment here.
September 20, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) tackles New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. — Eric Canha / Imagn ImagesCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Jalen Ramsey was called for a taunting violation after the Steelers recovered a Rhamondre Stevenson fumble in the first quarter, costing the Steelers anemic offense 15 yards of field position — and with that unit struggling the way it did, every little bit meant a lot.
The Steelers offense went three and out, punted from their own 20, and a missed tackle in coverage meant the next New England drive started from Pittsburgh territory.
So what did Ramsey say to earn the taunting foul?
Ramsey was flagged for saying the N word, something that has been on the NFL rule books for a while, but isn’t called often. Marqise Lee, then of the Jacksonville Jaguars, was flagged back in 2016. There was a concerted crack-down from the league about that time, but penalties since then have been few and far between.
Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham seemed to suggest that Ramsey was just celebrating the play, and wasn’t directing something at an opponent in a negative way.
“I think it was more about excitement for the play that was made,” Graham said. “This is an emotional game and it’s our job collectively: players, coaches, to be able to — I don’t want to say control our emotions, but know how to funnel those or channel those things in the right way. But I have no idea. I thought it was more excitement.”
September 20, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Troy Fautanu (76) defends quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) from New England Patriots linebacker Elijah Ponder (91)during the second half at Gillette Stadium. — Eric Canha / Imagn Images
Troy Fautanu definitely did not have his best game on Sunday. He also was playing nowhere near 100%. Fautanu was officially listed as questionable, and while it was pretty clear early in the week that he was going to try to play, it was very up in the air about how it was going to go, and he’s still very much dealing with the injury, to the point that he was in a walking boot leaving the locker room after the game on Sunday.
How much of a relatively poor performance can be blamed on playing through an injury? That’s a tough question to answer, but I’d say at least some. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Fautanu is limited in practice again this week.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward in a game against the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 28, 2025. — Ed Thompson ? Steelers Now
Something to keep an eye on is the way the team responds to their slow start. The mood in the locker room at Gillette Stadium was very, very down after the game. That might seem like the expectation, given the result, but from my experience, it was to a far greater than extent than I’ve seen in the past.
“These guys gotta keep their heads up. We’re 1-1,” one longtime member of the team said to me.
I asked Cam Heyward about the way he thought the team would handle the adversity.
“We’ll find out,” he said. “I hope our older guys and our leaders come ready to work.”
KRAFT MAKES AN ENTRANCE
Steelers president and owner Art Rooney II does not make a grand entrance. Much like his father, who famously drove a Buick to work, Rooney usually drives himself, and does so in understated fashion.
Unwilling to even deal with indignity of sitting through traffic while being chauffeured, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft arrives at Gillette Stadium on game days via helicopter.
There’s a lot to be said for family ownership that I think Steelers fans overlook when frustrated by the team’s lack of recent postseason success. One of them is certainly not having to sit in horrific traffic to a stadium built an hour outside of town while your owner flies over you in a helicopter.
GREAT STADIUM, GREAT CITY, STUPID SETUP
Gillette Stadium before a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots on Sept. 20, 2026. — Alan Saunders / Steelers Now
Every time I’m in Boston, I wish I was able to spend more time there. As a lover of history and culture and things that are old, it’s one of the American cities that I’d really like to explore a lot more than I’ve gotten the chance to.
Maybe that’s why I get so frustrated by the fact that the Patriots play closer to Rhode Island than downtown Boston. There isn’t a better city in America to spend a long weekend in. There’s so much history, so many pubs and bars and restaurants and sights to see. So why wouldn’t you want to spend your weekend in a stadium inside in a strip mall?
Another factor that’s led to me not spending enough time in Boston is that the last two years, the Steelers have played the Patriots on the same weekend as a charity golf outing that I participate in back in Pittsburgh. So I had to fly up on Sunday morning, and fly back early on Monday morning to get home in time for McCarthy’s Monday press conference. That makes for a relatively sad travelogue.
I will say the press food at Gillette Stadium is top-notch, but unfortunately, I don’t have a lot more to share in that regard this week.
Clam chowder and lobster roll at Gillette Stadium. — Alan Saunders / Steelers Now
Mentioned In This Article:Brian Angelichio Cam Heyward Jalen Ramsey Joey Porter Jr. Mike McCarthy Pittsburgh Steelers SN+ Steelers top Troy Fautanu