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Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. Still Not Ready to Start

The Pittsburgh Steelers don't believe Joey Porter Jr. is ready.

Noah Strackbein

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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are still developing second-round pick Joey Porter Jr., but despite some early success in limited action, they team isn't ready to put him in the starting lineup moving forward. 

So far, Porter Jr. has played in the dime package but not much else. Meanwhile, Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace have played 99% and 95 % of the team's defensive snaps on the outside. 

While the Steelers are impressed by Porter Jr.'s development, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said the team isn't ready to put him in as a starter. 

"No, not yet," Austin said when asked if Porter could play more than dime packages. "He's working hard. I like the way he's working, he's making strides. Is he ready for full time right now? I'm not sure I can say I really feel great about that. But yes, he is working in the right direction, he's trending in the right direction and at some point we expect him to be out there.

"I think it's always different to come into the league and as you're starting to learn it and then all of a sudden just throw you in and thrust you into the starting lineup, that's a different animal. I want to be pretty sure he's ready to handle all that because I don't want to throw him in there and him not have the success that we all envision for him."

Porter isn't expected to play more than usual against the Ravens, and will continue to slowly develop into a bigger role throughout the season. As of now, it's still Wallace and Peterson who will hold ground at cornerback for almost the entire game. 

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Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.

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