Joey Porter Sr. was drafted by the Steelers in 1999. Joey Porter Jr. was drafted by the Steelers in 2023. Father is thrilled to see his son following in his footsteps.
“I wanted it to be the Steelers so bad for him,” Porter Sr. told Steelers.com. “But they did such a good job of not letting us know. I have over 50 friends in that building that know me personally and I got nothing from anybody to say, ‘man, be ready, it’s coming,’ or anything. We wanted it. Trust me, that’s what we wanted. But we just didn’t feel like we could say for sure that’s what it was going to be.”
Although Porter Sr. left Pittsburgh to sign with Miami in 2007 and then went to Arizona in 2010, he returned to Pittsburgh after retiring as a player, spent five years on the Steelers’ coaching staff, and raised Joey Jr. primarily in Pennsylvania.
“It was amazing. I mean, absolutely amazing,” said Porter Sr. “The excitement was crazy because we’ve been back in Pittsburgh for a while. It’s where he played his high school ball, he played his college ball in Pennsylvania. Now to actually be drafted by the team who brought us to Pittsburgh, to Pennsylvania, in the first place. It’s the first locker room he ever walked into and now he’s walking in there because he works for the team. I mean, this is absolutely amazing. I am at a loss of words, actually.”
Porter Sr. won’t be at a loss for words as he cheers on his son in Pittsburgh, for many years to come.