PITTSBURGH -- Days after being cleared from the back injury that sidelined him throughout training camp, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. left Thursday's practice early with an athletic trainer.
While he was listed as a limited participant/not injury related (conditioning) on Wednesday's practice report, Thursday's report added a back injury to his status. Prior to Wednesday's practice report, Porter's back injury was listed on the Week 1 practice reports. The designation was removed once he was medically cleared.
Porter was spotted going through team stretch during the media viewing period, and he went through at least one rep of a ball security drill during an individual period before exiting.
Porter, who was inactive in the Week 1 win against the Atlanta Falcons because coach Mike McCarthy determined the cornerback needed additional time to ramp up, was scheduled to increase his participation throughout this week's practice. He did more work on Wednesday than he did the previous week, and he was scheduled to up his volume on Thursday, too.
"I though Joey had a good day yesterday," coach Mike McCarthy said prior to Thursday's practice. "He did everything that he was scheduled to do, so hopefully we can make some progress today."
McCarthy also continued to be noncommittal on the timeline for Porter's return and his availability for Sunday's game in New England.
In addition to the back injury, which he aggravated on the first day of training camp, Porter was also involved in a contentious contract negotiation throughout the preseason. The two sides failed to reach an agreement on an extension by the team's regular-season deadline, and Porter, a 2023 second-round pick, is set to play out the final year of his rookie contract. The Steelers then have the option of franchise-tagging him to prevent the cornerback from reaching free agency in 2027.
Despite the outside drama of the extension negotiations, Porter's teammates have continued to support him and say it hasn't been a distraction inside the locker room.
"I'm with Joe, whatever he's doing -- whether it's injury, whether it's contract, whatever it is, I respect it," Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen said after Thursday's practice. "I'm behind him 100%. I tell him every single time, 'I respect how you go about your business every single day.'"