CB Porter noncommittal on playing without deal

PITTSBURGH -- Speaking for the first time amid contentious contract negotiations, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was noncommittal when asked if he would play without a contract extension. "I don't know," he said with a shrug. "I got to talk to the guys upstairs and my agents about that." Minutes earlier, when asked if he would play if healthy, Porter gave an affirmative answer before walking it back. "Yeah, for sure," he said, then pausing and adding, "maybe." Porter, entering the final year of his rookie contract, practiced Tuesday for the first time since being activated off the physically unable to perform list at Sunday's roster cutdown deadline. Porter said his back injury, which he aggravated during mobility workouts on the first day of training camp, was the "whole reason" he was sidelined during training camp and the preseason. Coach Mike McCarthy said before Tuesday's practice that Porter would "ramp up" in his participation, and the cornerback wouldn't speculate if he would be ready for the Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons. "Really can't speak too much about the future," Porter said. "But today I was out there today running with the guys, still trying to get back fully, but we're going to take it day-by-day for the most part." "And that's the same page me and Coach have been on so far." Porter also said he didn't know what was holding up negotiations, and he was neutral when asked if he thought a deal would get done. "I mean, I could hope and think all day," Porter said. "But it's really, it's up to those guys upstairs, and what they want to do with this team. So all I could do is just show up every day to work and be prepared." Porter said he's leaned on his dad and former Steelers player and coach, Joey Porter Sr., for council during the process. "He's been giving me great advice," Porter said. "I can't say too much on what he's been saying to me, but he's been giving me great advice. He's been in my corner my whole life, so I wouldn't think he would steer me in the wrong direction." While Porter's future remains unresolved, the Steelers extended three other members of his draft class in outside linebacker Nick Herbig, tight end Darnell Washington and defensive lineman Keeanu Benton. "I was really just happy that they got theirs done," he said. "I came in with those guys, me, Herb, and Keeanu and even Washington, we all came in together. Those are my guys. So I was ecstatic that they got paid. It's well-deserved, it's well-earned. I'm happy that they get to feed their families and do what they want to do with their money that they earn." Porter, though, acknowledged that his own contract negotiation process has been a difficult one. "It's been tough, not going to lie," he said. "It's my first go around [with] this, but I mean, it's been also great because I have all my guys with me, all the coaches and players really are on my side, really understand everything about the business side of things. ... But at the end of the day, it is what it is." Veteran defensive leader Cameron Heyward, who dealt with a difficult negotiation during last year's training camp, expressed support for Porter Tuesday and said he's offered him advice. "Don't take it personal, but you will," Heyward said of the advice he gave Porter. "It's a business at the end of the day. There's nobody in that locker room that doesn't want Joey on that field and that will never change." He added: "I want everybody to get paid, and I want everybody to be acknowledged for the work they put in because this game is not forever, and we have to maximize every dollar."