In Week 1, an expected issue for the Detroit Lions was confirmed by the time the game ended. The secondary needs help, and whenever safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are able to play, it's hard to think that'll be enough.
General manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell will express confidence in the secondary at every turn, and until they're a deeper shade of blue in the face than Honolulu. They are essentially asking everyone to ignore what they see, unless something changes.
On the eve of the season opener, the Lions restructured the contracts of wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive tackle Penei Sewell to create nearly $36 million in cap space. The reasoning behind that could be rooted in looming contract extensions for tight end Sam LaPorta and Branch, but those deals wouldn't really take effect until next year.
Even if we just say they want to roll significant cap space into 2027, that's a whole lot of cleared space for this year and it has plenty of people wondering if a big move is on the radar.
The name most easily attached to that speculation is Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. He wants a new contract, as other corners have gotten paid recently, and he missed Week 1 due to a back injury that may or may not have kept him out if he had a new contract in-hand.
Add the Steelers' stance against doing contract negotiations in-season, and you get easy trade rumors.
Potential Lions-Joey Porter Jr. match has been given juice by insider
Appearing on "The Pat McAfee Show" Tuesday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport had fresh report on Porter Jr's situation.
Rapoport cited Porter's back injury, which kept him out of training camp, and the need for him to ramp up to being able to be ready to play. Rapoport also referenced the "contract part of it", with mention of how the Steelers don't do contract negotations during the season.
Rapoport, like everyone else, is wondering about the possibility Porter could be traded.
"There are teams that are 'corner-needy teams", Rapoport said. "He is a very good player, with a contract situation that's a mess...it's been, not in a great place for awhile. So does someone step up and say 'we need a really good corner' ...Pittsburgh has been open to trading him."
Rapoport said the Steelers' price to part with Porter and the level of interest have not matched up yet. Co-host Darius Butler then asked him what teams might have interest.
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Rapoport specifically mentioned the Kansas City Chiefs, in light of rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane being injured in Week 1, and the Lions with Terrion Arnold gone, as teams to keep any eye on.
While Rapoport's insight adds a very credible layer to the speculation, it's still hard to envision Holmes making a trade for Porter.
Not only would it require giving up a notable draft pick, which the Lions' GM holds onto like he won't ever have another, acquiring Porter comes with having to give him a market value-level contract extension. Not having pony up with a big second contract for a cornerback has allowed the Lions to extend whoever else they want to.
Until Porter either has a new contract from the Steelers, or he's traded to another team, the idea of him landing with the Lions can be alive. And they certainly could use him.
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