The Pittsburgh Steelers are on track to get one of their starting corners back in Joey Porter Jr. but could be without Donte Jackson on the other side in their regular-season finale. Jackson popped up on the injury report on Wednesday with the back injury he’s been struggling with for weeks and described what happened to the media following practice Thursday.
“Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson (back) said he had a setback yesterday when he appeared on the injury report,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko wrote on X. “He was able to do a little today in individuals, but he’ll have to see how he feels for Saturday night. Considers himself day to day for now.”
Jackson has been on and off the injury report all season and has a habit of exiting games for a drive or two. This isn’t something that is unique to the 2024 season with the Steelers. He has dealt with several minor injuries throughout his career.
If he is unable to go, Cory Trice Jr. appears to be the backup cornerback most likely to start opposite Porter. DC Teryl Austin said prior to Week 17 that they would ride the hot hand between Trice and James Pierre. Trice played 47 snaps compared to Pierre’s 18 last week.
The injury report already gave us a pretty good indication this week, but Porter told the media today that he expects to play on Saturday, per WPXI’s Shelby Cassesse on X. Good thing Porter is back because Jackson’s issue can be described as a nagging injury at this point. A pinched nerve in his back keeps flaring up. That is more difficult to gauge a recovery on than a soft-tissue injury that they can run an MRI on.
Last time the Cincinnati Bengals and Steelers met in Week 13, Jackson intercepted Joe Burrow in a shootout to help secure the win. When healthy, Jackson has been an impact player for the defense, but the injuries have piled up and his play has taken a hit as a result.
