The Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 NFL season has come to a close. Because the Steelers are among the 31 teams who did not finish fulfilling their ultimate goal, they are in the process of wrapping up their season and moving forward into 2025.

Since the Steelers conduct exit interviews with all their players, and the fact I have done these articles in the past, we thought we would do them yet again here at Steel Curtain Network. By outlining two players each day, we will be able to look at their season in retrospect as well as looking toward the future. Since Coach Tomlin has previously stated he starts his interviews with rookies and those heading into free agency, we will attempt to do the same to some degree. To start, we will pair the most recent draftees with another player at the same position (if possible) as we work through this process to eventually cover the entire Steelers roster.

Next up are cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr. and James Pierre.

Joey Porter Jr.

Position: Cornerback
Years with the Steelers: 2
Years in the NFL: 2
Contract Status: Signed through 2026
Contract Details: $2,623,186 salary cap hit for 2025. Would cost the Steelers $5,065,092 in dead money if released.
Games played in 2023: 16 regular season
Games started in 2023: 16 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 971 (defense), 78 (special teams)
PFF score: 54.6 (99th of 118)
Notable stats: Porter had 70 tackles, two of which were for loss, one interception, and 7 passes defensed with no touchdowns surrendered.

Notes: Some steelers fans may think Joey Porter Jr. took a step backwards in his second season. Personally, I would call this year an improvement not because there was a huge leap in production on the field, but a huge leap in responsibilities given without a big fall off. While some fans will complain about the number of penalties, more than one-third of them came in one game where the plan appeared to be super physical. The key is if Porter can take a step in season three now that he has all the added responsibility.

James Pierre

Position: Cornerback
Years with the Steelers: 5
Years in the NFL: 5
Contract Status: Free Agent
Contract Details: Contract expiring with no dead money.
Games played in 2023: 15 regular season
Games started in 2023: 2 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 206 (defense), 255 (special teams)
PFF score: 56.2 (DNQ for ranking)
Notable stats: Pierre had 23 tackles, one interception, three passes defensed, and two forced fumbles while surrendering 2 touchdowns.

Notes: Spending training camp in Washington, James Pierre came back to the Steelers when Corey Trice went on IR. Used primarily for special teams, Pierre was a liability when having to fill in on defense. But by seasons end, his quality special teams contributions, despite dropping a pass on a fake punt, gave him the helmet over Trice when the decision had to be made. While I wouldn’t be shocked for the Steelers to bring Pierre back on a minimum deal again, it’s not a transaction that really moves the needle one way or the other at cornerback.

Make sure you check back each day for another set of exit interviews. If you have missed any of the previous articles, they are listed here:

Troy Fautanu & Broderick Jones
Zach Frazier & Ryan McCollum
Roman Wilson & Van Jefferson
Payton Wilson & Patrick Queen
Mason McCormick & James Daniels
Logan Lee & Isaiahh Loudermilk
Ryan Watts & Damontae Kazee