Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. will return for the team’s Week 6 game against the Cleveland Browns, he said after practice on Monday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Porter has been out since he suffered a hamstring injury in the Steelers’ Week 1 win over the New York Jets. Originally thought to be minor, Porter ended up missing three more games while rehabbing the soft-tissue injury, but now says he is ready to go for this Sunday’s rivalry battle with the Browns.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I’m back, surely.”
Porter was a limited participant in the team’s practices leading up to the Steelers’ Week 4 game in Dublin, Ireland against the Minnesota Vikings, and admitted that he was trying to play in that game, but that head coach Mike Tomlin wanted to be cautious with his return.
“I wanted to get back before the bye week, just to get my little groove in, but it was for the greater good that I sat, get some more time,” Porter said. “We’re ready now. … He had a timeline in mind, and he’s the head coach, so he has that right. Whatever he calls, I’m with it.”
Strong safety DeShon Elliott returned from his knee sprain against the Vikings, but the Steelers lost cornerback Jalen Ramsey to a hamstring injury against Minnesota, meaning the team still has not put its entire secondary together outside of one half against the Jets.
Ramsey’s status for this week is up in the air. With Porter and now Ramsey out, the Steelers have leaned heavily on No. 3 cornerback Brandin Echols, who has been up to the task so far.
“We’ve got horses,” Porter said. “We’ve got a lot of good guys that come in and make plays. I went down and then we had BE step up these past couple games. I feel like the clock is just going to keep ticking, we’re going to keep grinding and trying to be the best out there.”
The Steelers have allowed 260.5 passing yards per game, which is the third-most in the NFL so far this season, but are also second in the NFL with 2.50 takeaways per contest.
Brendan Howe provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Cornerback Pledges Return vs. Browns: ‘I’m Back’
