To this day, you will still see Joey Porter Sr. wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey with his last name on the back of it. However, the number on it is now 24, the number worn by his son as a starter for the team that drafted him in 1999, instead of his more familiar 55.
If he had it his way, when he visits the stadium 10, 20 years from now, he will see more Porter 24 jerseys than 55s. And he very much believes that is a distinct possibility. Joey Porter Jr. is only beginning to establish himself during the first half of his rookie season, but dad knows.
“He definitely has the potential to be a bigger NFL star than me. That was the goal”, he told Jenna Harner during an interview with the father and son duo that aired on WPXI last night. And to do it in the same town in which he made his name is all the more special. Senior pointed out that he didn’t have to change his wardrobe, although now he has jerseys with two different numbers on them.
“He always preached, he wanted me to be better than him”, the younger Porter told Harner. “That was always a topic in our conversation when we’re playing sports. He always gave me the utmost confidence going out there. And he made me want to wear my last name proudly”.
The 32nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Porter quickly overcame the disappointment of being passed over in the first round as he begins to forge his own legacy as a member of the Steelers. Having just officially entered the starting lineup, he already has an interception and three total passes defensed in his career and is allowing under 50 percent of the passes thrown in his target area to be completed.
The 6-2 cornerback is the prototype of what the Steelers were looking for this offseason, right down to the bloodlines, though it’s his size and technique most of all that won him his starting job. The “Peezy” personality does come out—as after he picked off Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson in the end zone working against WR Odell Beckham Jr.—but he’s a whole lot more than attitude.
Porter began his career working as the dime defender, playing only a handful of snaps per game, but those numbers increased slowly as the Steelers approached their early bye week. Over the past two games, he has played about 80 percent of the snaps, with this past Sunday marking his official debut as a starter.
The first of many, surely, and he has a long way to catch up with dad. The elder Porter started 171 games in his 13-year NFL career, of which 106 came with the Steelers from 1999-2006. A four-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro, there’s no doubt that he left his mark on the game, even if it took him some time to become a significant contributor.
Now he gets to watch his son from the stands record each of his firsts—his first tackle, his first pass defensed, his first interception, his first start. Still to come: his first touchdown. His first Pro Bowl. His first All-Pro. And his first Lombardi Trophy. At last, that’s the goal. It was always the goal.
