PITTSBURGH -- The Steelers will be without top cornerback Joey Porter Jr. for a second week in a row as the team ruled him out for its Week 2 matchup against the New England Patriots.
The Steelers also listed wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (foot) and offensive tackle Troy Fautanu (ankle) as questionable. Pittman didn't practice Thursday or Friday, while Fautanu was upgraded from limited earlier in the week to full Friday.
Porter, a limited participant in practice each day this week, was scheduled to ramp up his conditioning Wednesday, and his description on the practice report that day was listed as "not injury related - conditioning." On Thursday, though, he left practice early with a trainer, and a back injury was added to the report.
He has been in the midst of a contentious contract negotiation with the Steelers, and the sides failed to reach a deal by their regular-season deadline. Porter has not spoken publicly since the deadline passed without an extension, and he was the first to exit the locker room following Sunday's win over the Atlanta Falcons.
His teammates have continued to be vocal in their support of Porter throughout the contract situation.
"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.'"
Porter had previously been cleared of the back injury that landed him on the physically unable to perform list for the duration of training camp, but he was inactive for the season-opening win against the Falcons because coach Mike McCarthy determined Porter had yet to complete his ramp-up process in returning to the field.
"My concern for Joey, obviously, is to get him to a spot no different than everybody else in training camp," McCarthy said Monday. "The first players that go through the first ramp-up period that aren't ready to go, they don't participate fully in the padded practice. So I don't really see this any different than that. Now, it is different in that there's a business component to it, and that's really a whole other topic."
Prior to Porter's latest back issue, McCarthy was noncommittal on the cornerback's timeline for returning to the field but said he expected Porter to play once the ramp-up period was completed.
Without Porter, the Steelers will again turn to co-starter Asante Samuel Jr. to step in. Samuel was one of three Steelers to play every defensive snap against the Falcons in Week 1.