Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Darius Slay believes Joey Porter Jr. has a big payday coming, but he also has one major critique of Porter’s game. To say the least, Slay doesn’t think highly of Porter’s ball skills.
“He’s very good in press, gets his hands on the ball, very disruptive at the line of scrimmage. The only thing I think he has wrong with him is ball production. He just don’t have a lot of picks right now, but they’re coming. I’ve been there with him in Pittsburgh. His hands are very sus,” Slay said Tuesday on ESPN’s NFL Live. “He’s gonna get them right, though. Hope my boy Ramsey is working with him over there because he’s a guy that can get to the rock. Other than that, Joey is for sure going to be a guy that’s going to sneak into this top 10 easily. He’s got a big payday coming up, too. Pittsburgh, make sure you do my boy right.”
Former Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor took issue with Slay’s statement.
“Glad I wasn’t in the era for biting da bait…an talkn bout the same side of the ball teammate… #inhause,” Taylor wrote on X.
Porter has already established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the league during his three seasons in Pittsburgh, recording 165 tackles, one sack, 31 passes defended and three interceptions.
He has also allowed just one touchdown pass in his NFL career, and that was in 2023 as a rookie.
Porter does lack interceptions, however. He only has three career interceptions, one in each season since he’s entered the league.
In addition to lack of INTs, the biggest knock against Porter throughout the start of his NFL career has been his penalties. But he even cut those nearly in half in 2025, going from 17 in 2024 to just nine a season ago.
Porter revealed at minicamp that he expects to be paid as one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks.
“Definitely, I feel like I was an elite guy since I’ve been in this League, and I’m happy that I’m getting the respect that I feel like I’m owed,” Porter said.
Porter got snubbed on ESPN’s recent top-10 cornerback rankings. He was named honorable mention, however.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Steelers Cornerback Takes Shot at Joey Porter Jr.
