EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsPITTSBURGH -- Deadlines often spur action, and there's still a hard one for the Pittsburgh Steelers' negotiating window.Amid fruitless extension talks with starting cornerback Joey Porter Jr., Steelers general manager Omar Khan said Monday the organization's policy of not negotiating contracts during the regular season remains in place. That means the two sides have until Pittsburgh's Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 13 to reach an agreement."We won't talk publicly about the negotiations per se, but Joey knows how we feel about him, and I still hope Joey finishes his career here," Khan said. "... Our policy is going to remain in place, but I'm not going to talk about negotiations."Porter Jr. was activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list at the roster cutdown deadline Sunday night, avoiding a mandatory four-game absence. But even though Porter Jr., who was put on the list with a back injury he aggravated during a mobility workout on the first day of training camp, has been deemed able to practice by the team's medical staff, there's no certainty he'll return to the field."In the next couple of weeks, not just Joey, but anyone that we feel is healthy and available to us, we expect him to practice," Khan said. "He got taken off [PUP]. Our medical staff felt like he was good to go."While Porter Jr.'s participation is uncertain, Khan provided positive updates on several injured players including wide receivers Michael Pittman. Jr. and DK Metcalf and safety Jaquan Brisker and said he expected them to be available for Week 1. One player who won't be playing against Atlanta is veteran safety DeShon Elliott, who was placed on injured reserve at the roster cutdown deadline on Sunday.Though the Steelers already designated him to return, Elliott will miss at least the first four games of the season. Khan, though, said Elliott didn't suffer a setback with the serious knee injury he sustained a year ago."We just said, 'Hey, let's be smart about it,'" Khan said, explaining the reasoning behind placing Elliott on IR. "There's been nothing to tell us that things have regressed or there was any type of setback. He played in the Jets preseason game, and we were able to see how he came out of that and just felt like the right thing to do is to be smart and have him ready to go [later]."Khan also said the Steelers still have four practice squad roster spots available, and the team would use one of them on a veteran safety to give the position depth. A candidate for another spot is hard-hitting linebacker Elandon Roberts, who was surprisingly released by the Steelers after a brief, but notable stint in camp."Not closing the door on that by any means," Khan said of Roberts. "I have a lot of respect for E Rob. We have some history with him, and he's done a good job. Love the player and love the person. I'm certainly not closing the door."
