Speaking for the first time since he and the Pittsburgh Steelers failed to reach an agreement on an extension by the regular-season deadline, Joey Porter Jr. said he is "definitely" going to play this season, but the exact date of his return is still up in the air. Following Thursday's practice, the cornerback responded "yeah, definitely" when asked if he expected to play at some point and if he would play despite not getting a contract extension.

When asked if he expected to play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Porter was noncommittal. "I think it's the same like how it's always been, just keep ramping up, keep doing what I can do and just be there for my teammates," Porter said of his expectations. Porter refuted reports Thursday that he requested a trade or sought a second opinion on his back injury.

Asked if conditioning or the back injury was the primary roadblock to playing Sunday, Porter said it was both. "My back has its moments where [there's] a flare-up here and there," Porter said. "And we're still just trying to get my conditioning down to just me being out there as much as possible." Porter added that he anticipated playing limited snaps whenever he does make his season debut.