Porter Jr. Calls It Settled. The Injury Report Doesn't.

Joey Porter Jr. told reporters the contract situation is "old news," and maybe it is — the impasse McCarthy acknowledged back in August has apparently been resolved quietly enough that Porter isn't interested in revisiting it. Fine. But he's still listed questionable heading into Week 3, and there's no stated timeline for his return, so the secondary is still operating without him regardless of how the business side shakes out.

The cornerback room behind him — Car'lin Vigers, Donte Kent, Brandin Echols — has been holding things together, and the veteran safety additions from early August have given the back end some cushion. It's not a crisis. It's a managed shortage, and Pittsburgh has been managing it since training camp opened.

What matters now is simple: Porter Jr. is questionable with no return date attached. Until he's practicing in full and that designation comes off, the "old news" framing is his to offer but not the defense's to count on.