Steelers Weren't Too Far Away With Joey Porter Jr. on Potential Contract
· Yahoo Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers' decision to trade Joey Porter Jr. doesn't make them a better football team right now, and for a couple of reasons, that's a problem in itself.
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Ultimately, the Steelers will have to hope a couple of guys step up in the secondary after the trade, though there are questions about that.
As for why the Steelers didn't give Porter the contract he wanted, it didn't sound like the two sides were as far apart as some initially expected.
There was reportedly a contract presented to Porter, though the language in the deal was the bigger problem.
Porter was looking to have guaranteed money, something to protect himself in case of a long-term injury, but similar to what the Steelers have done in the past, they didn't want to fully guarantee the second year if he were to get hurt.
“Pittsburgh did offer Porter a contract that, with some work, could have been acceptable to keep him with the team. The Steelers presented Porter with a deal that reached $28 million in average annual value -- a pitch that would have been the starting point for a deal to be consummated.
“There was significant money guaranteed for injury, but not fully in the second year, as the Steelers held firm on a stance they have used often over the past few years. They are among the few teams to avoid guarantees past Year 1, joining the Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals among those the clubs that (mostly) take that stance,” Ian Rapoport wrote.
It's tough to say whether this is the right or wrong decision for the Steelers, as there are many ways to look at this.
For one, if Pittsburgh truly believes that it has a chance to win a Super Bowl over the next couple of years, keeping a guy like Porter around should be a priority. Instead, it went in a different direction. As for how the Steelers should feel about not guaranteeing contracts if an injury happens, given how prevalent injuries are in the NFL, it's something teams have to be careful with.
Many teams around the league have been put in bad situations because of injuries, and that's not something every team wants to deal with.
The Steelers clearly didn't and decided to go in a different direction.