Joey Porter Jr. could not make his NFL debut this Friday night which was against the Buccaneers. After two days, the news seemed to be better. The Steelers rookie cornerback on Sunday returned to practice after he was inactive for the Week 1 preseason game as he had a left ankle injury that was sustained during the training camp.
The injury was a setback which was to be in a strong camp for the second-round pick. So much has been made about Porters’ practice matchups with George Pickens, who even opened a scoring Friday night with a 32-yard touchdown catch, and that too from Kenny Pickett. Porter surely had several interceptions during his camp while he was continuing to test his skills against the so-called Pickens.
Steelers Joey Porter returns to practice:
Mike Tomlin, who is currently the Steelers’ head coach, commented on him that he is definitely a quick learner and he is very much in the process of growth, especially in terms of the nuances of the professional game.
In particular, the corner-back position has probably got more of an adjustment from college to pro than any other position in the game because of the special differences in the rules that too in terms of contact beyond five yards.
He is considered a line-of-scrimmage corner, and hand play has definitely been a significant component of his game, so that adjustment cannot be underestimated. He indeed appreciated his efforts and also mentioned that he has been productive enough in the midst of that.
Porter surely has a big benefit of practicing against a deep receiving corps that includes Pickens and former pro bowlers known as Diontae Johnson and Allen Robinson.
He even has the luxury of working with an eight-time Prow Back cornerback, the famous one known as Patrick Peterson, who recently signed with the Steelers that too in this off-season. Peterson, as seen, has taken Porter under his wing.
There was a play that recently went viral that involved Porter and Pickens, which took place during a practice last week when Porter was on the wrong end of Pickens Jaw dropping reception. The time when everyone’s eyes and attention were on the catch, Peterson took something else away from the play.
According to Peterson said, he saw growth in Joey, and he said that when one sees a guy make the catch, it seems to be spectacular and unbelievable.
But on the other hand, when one gets the ball and puts it into DB’s face, that’s what a fight which is waiting to be fought. But this young fella kept his cool, took the coaching points from his respective coach Grady Brown, and he did not even retaliate.
This is what is called a sign of growth, as you can’t fight in a game, so they are not even doing it even on a practice field. Porter knows that there are definitely going to be ups and downs during his transition from college to pros. This maturity and perspective surely made a deep impact and helped him to keep his composure in such situations, which happened between him and Pickens this Tuesday.
