Asked this week if he’ll be playing at some point, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. told reporters, “Yeah, definitely.”
He wasn’t asked to specify whether that would be with the Steelers or a new team.
As Porter’s contract impasse with the Steelers extends to a third week — and, potentially, a third missed game on Sunday due to “conditioning” — more teams reportedly are reaching out to Pittsburgh about a possible trade.
Last week, the official word from ESPN was that the Steelers had received no “serious inquiries” about Porter. PFT thereafter reported that at least one team has called.
Now, ESPN reports that a “handful” of teams “have begun making inquiries” about a possible trade for Porter. The Steelers reportedly “would be willing to listen,” but they would want a “strong compensation package.”
That’s where a wacky situation gets even more out of whack. If the Steelers want a lot for Porter (we’ve heard it could be as much as a first-round pick or a second-round pick, plus a third-round pick), why won’t they just pay him something closer to what he’s seeking? For the interested teams, the challenge becomes giving the Steelers what they want for Porter while also figuring out a new deal with Porter.
The new report identifies the Lions and Cowboys as teams that have called the Steelers.
Dallas would be an interesting destination, given that Porter is represented by the same agent (David Mulugheta) who represents former Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. After an ugly contract negotiation, during which Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones disrespected Mulugheta by pretending not to know who he is, the Cowboys traded Parsons to the Packers once it became clear that Parsons would not play without a new contract.
The trade deadline arrives in 44 days, on the Tuesday after Week 9. The sooner a trade happens, the faster the Steelers and Porter extricate themselves from a situation that gets more awkward by the day. Porter clearly isn’t playing because he doesn’t have a new contract, and the Steelers have painted themselves into a corner with their outdated internal rule that new contracts won’t be done after the regular season starts.
Lions Clips
We learned during the week that Bengals wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins were fined for gestures deemed to be obscene by the league office, but it turns out that both players were fined multiple times.
The NFL announced on Saturday that Higgins was fined three different times for making an obscene gesture. Higgins was also fined once for an illegal celebration/vulgar act during the win. All of the fines were for $14,926, which means Higgins’s total bill was $59,704.
Chase received two fines for the same amount. They had company in Detroit when it came to being fined several times.
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was fined four times for illegal celebrations or vulgar acts. He owes the league the same amount as Higgins for the infractions.
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, left tackle Penei Sewell and wide receiver Jameson Williams were also fined for the same infraction. Williams picked up a $11,941 fine for taunting as well.
There were 18 fines for obscene gestures or illegal celebrations/vulgar acts around the league in Week 2.
The Jets have added a couple of wide receivers to their roster for Sunday’s game in Detroit.
They announced on Saturday that they have elevated Sterling Shepard from the practice squad and signed Jamaal Pritchett to the active roster. They also elevated kicker Jason Sanders.
Shepard signed with the team last week. The longtime Giant had 39 receptions for 371 yards and a touchdown while with the Buccaneers last season.
Pritchett spent last season on the practice squad and has never appeared in a regular season game. The Jets listed Adonai Mitchell as questionable to play with a finger injury and they put Omar Cooper on injured reserve ahead of Week 2, which left them short on healthy wideouts.
This is the third elevation for Sanders, so the Jets will have to sign him to the active roster or make another choice at kicker in Week 4.
Although the Jets have extended the record for games without an interception to 19, their defense has quietly become stout.
Through two weeks, the Jets have the No. 1 overall defense in the NFL.
In Week 1, the Jets held the Titans to 195 total yards. In Week 2, the Jets limited the Packers to 199 yards in an overtime loss. (The Packers had 156 yards at the end of regulation.)
Per NBC Sports research, if the Jets can limit the Lions to 199 or fewer yards on Sunday, New York will become the third team in the Super Bowl era to hold the opponent to less than 200 yards in the first three games of the season, joining the 1999 Buccaneers and the 1970 Lions.
It won’t be easy against the 2026 Lions, who gained 369 against the Saints and 355 against the Bills. But Jets coach Aaron Glenn knows the Detroit personnel well, given his time spent as the Lions’ defensive coordinator.
The New York offense will need to deliver, too, if the Jets hope to get to 2-1. Detroit’s defense ranks 31st in the league, with 457.5 yards allowed per game.
The Jets aren’t ready to make a call on wide receiver Adonai Mitchell’s availability for Sunday’s game against the Lions.
Mitchell was added to the injury report with a finger injury on Thursday and he was limited in practice for the second straight day on Friday. The team has listed him as questionable for the game.
Linebacker Joseph Ossai (foot) is also listed as questionable. Ossai did not play in the first two games, so this weekend would mark his Jets debut.
The Jets ruled safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin), tight end Mason Taylor (thumb), and linebacker Kiko Mauigoa (quad) out for this week. Running back Kene Nwangwu (back) is listed as doubtful.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell and Jets head coach Aaron Glenn were both born and raised in Texas, both played at Texas A&M, they were teammates on the Cowboys, they were on the Saints’ coaching staff together for five years, and when Campbell got the Detroit job, making Glenn his defensive coordinator was his first order of business. Suffice to say, they’re close.
In fact, Campbell said today that when the Jets hired Glenn away from the Lions to be their head coach, it led to a unique mix of emotions, because he was so happy for his friend reaching his ultimately career goal, and so sad that they wouldn’t work together anymore.
“AG means the world to me. He’s one of my dearest friends because I know what he’s made of,” Campbell said. “One of the greatest days of my life was him getting that job, and one of the worst days of my life was him getting that job. Because you’re losing a little piece of you. That’s what he meant to me, and to us.”
Campbell’s Lions face Glenn’s Jets on Sunday, and it will be a special moment for both coaches.
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown told reporters today that he was fined nearly $60,000 for four celebrations in which he mimicked smoking in last week’s game against the Bills.
St. Brown said each of his four celebrations came with a fine of more than $14,000.
“It’s not good, man,” St. Brown said, via the Detroit Free Press. “Fourteen-something times four. You do the math. But I’m appealing.”
The NFL classifies inappropriate celebrations as unsportsmanlike conduct, and the standard fine is $14,926. Four of those fines would total $59,704.
The league appears to have cracked down especially hard on celebrations this week. 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk was fined for what the league said was miming chugging a beer but Juszczyk says was miming drinking a glass of juice, which is his nickname. Colts guard Matt Goncalves was fined for the same thing. Bengals receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins were both fined for a celebration that was deemed to be obscene.
The Jets added a starting wideout to their injury report on Thursday.
Adonai Mitchell was a limited participant due to a finger injury. It’s his first appearance on the injury report for any reason this season.
Mitchell has nine catches for 123 yards through two weeks. He also drew a long pass interference penalty against the Packers in Week 2.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin), linebacker Kiko Mauigoa (quad), running back Kene Nwangwu (back), and tight end Mason Taylor (thumb) all missed practice for the second straight day. Linebackers Joseph Ossai (foot) and David Bailey (elbow) remained limited participants.
Injury designations for Sunday’s trip to Detroit will be revealed on Friday.
The first two weeks of the Lions’ season haven’t painted the picture of a team firing on all cylinders.
Week 1 saw them give up a 21-0 lead to the Saints before rallying for a win in overtime and they fell down by 21 points during a 41-31 loss in Buffalo in Week 2. That’s led to plenty of doubts about the team’s ability to contend at a high level this season, but quarterback Jared Goff said that is just fine with him because he thinks it will bring the best out of the team.
“I’m excited to get back home and play in front of our fans for sure, but you love when the vultures start coming out,” Goff said. “Guys’ character really emerges and I know our guys in this locker room and you can see those guys stand tall and be who they are. Stand in the fire, take the shots and fight right through it. . . . We’re in a great place. Excited to get back in front of our fans.”
A win over the Jets this Sunday would keep the vultures at bay, but a loss would probably make Goff and company a little less comfortable with how they’re situated heading into October.
The Lions filled the open spot on their 53-man roster by adding an offensive lineman on Wednesday.
Center Seth McLaughlin has been signed off of the practice squad. The Lions opened two spots on Tuesday by putting safety Avonte Maddox on injured reserve and releasing linebacker Joe Bachie.
Bachie re-signed to the practice squad Wednesday and the Lions signed defensive back Bishop Fitzgerald off the Steelers’ practice squad Tuesday.
McLaughlin was elevated from the practice squad in Week 2, but did not play against the Bills. He spent the 2025 season on the Bengals’ practice squad, but did not appear in any regular season games for Cincinnati.
