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Fittipaldo: ‘Hard To Argue’ Joey Porter Jr. Can Still Become A CB1

In 2023, the Steelers drafted Joey Porter Jr. with hopes he could develop into their next lockdown cornerback. He showed glimpses in his rookie year, but some struggles were apparent in Year 2.

Heading into his third year, the Steelers brought in as much veteran help as he could ask for. Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay were supposed to take a load off his shoulders and give him some mentorship along the way. All three of them struggled in a 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, and Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo is starting to have some questions about Porter.

“Yeah, I mean it’s hard to argue that he’s a number one corner when he continues to put out performances like that against the Bengals,” Fittipaldo said Friday on 93.7 The Fan. “Last year in Cincinnati, I know the Steelers won 44-38, but he had six penalties in that game. Four pass interference, I think two defensive holding calls. So clearly he’s struggling in some big matchups. I know they had high hopes for him, almost a first-round pick and all that. At least against Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals, it doesn’t look too pretty for Joey Porter Jr.”

Before the year began, both Ramsey and Porter wanted to be the Steelers’ CB1. On Thursday, neither looked like close to one. There were some questionable calls and no-calls throughout the game, but the Steelers have no excuses. No matter who was guarding who, the Steelers couldn’t stop anything through the air.

For Joey Porter, it’s now two bad performances in as many years against the Bengals’ talented receiving corps. Last season in Cincinnati, he was flagged six times, and the defense gave up 38 points. Fortunately, the offense scored enough for the Steelers to win in a shootout. But this is now back-to-back games in Paycor Stadium in which Porter has looked bad.

Aside from Thursday’s game, he hasn’t had a bad season. Injuries kept him out for three games, but against the Jets and Browns he played well. Prior to Thursday night, Porter had only given up four completions for 45 yards, and had a passer rating allowed of just 60.0

However, both those teams have significantly less wide receiver talent than the Bengals do. And it showed. At the end of the day, if Joey Porter is going to become a CB1 for the Steelers in the future, he just can’t play like this against divisional rivals. Some of it may come down to the game plan, which was outright terrible. But for the most part, Porter and the rest of the secondary just didn’t step up to the plate.

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