Week 3 Is the Target for Porter Jr.

Joey Porter Jr. is eyeing a return for Week 3, which would mark his first appearance of the season after missing the opener and sitting questionable through Week 2 with a back issue layered onto the original injury. Two games in, the cornerback room has been operating without its cornerstone.

The contract situation hasn't moved. McCarthy acknowledged an impasse back in late August, and nothing since has suggested the two sides have closed the gap. Porter Jr. playing again doesn't automatically resolve that — it just changes the backdrop. He goes from absent to present, and the negotiation continues on a live stage.

What the Steelers need from him is straightforward enough. The depth behind him — Car'lin Vigers and Donte Kent have been the names getting snaps — isn't built to carry a secondary for long stretches. Pittsburgh added veteran safeties in August to shore up the back end, but the cornerback room was always going to require Porter Jr. to function at something close to full capacity.

If Week 3 holds, it's the first piece of good news on this particular front in a while. Whether it stays good news depends on how his body responds and whether the contract conversation finds any new air. Neither of those things is settled yet.