With the addition of Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers added a familiar face to the franchise. Porter Jr's father, Joey Porter, spent eight seasons of his career with the team. During that team, he grew close with teammate Ike Taylor. It now appears that Porter Jr. will look to honor the former cornerback.

While appearing on the Minus Three Podcast, Taylor revealed that Porter Jr. plans on wearing number 24, the same number that he wore during his 12 seasons with the Steelers.

“Joey Porter Sr., was like, ‘He’s going to wear that 2-4 in honor of Uncle Ike,’. I was like, ‘Oh, hell yeah. When I saw that this morning in the group text, I was like, that’s pretty damn cool,” said Taylor.

Taylor then spoke about how long he has known Joey Porter Jr., stating, “I knew Joey Porter Jr. when he was small, like when he was born.”

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Upon his arrival to the Steelers, Porter Jr. will be expected to make an impact from day one. While many expected him to be one of the first cornerbacks selected, he did not hear his name called in round one. After falling to round 2, Pittsburgh traded up to add the Penn State cornerback.

During his time at Penn State, Porter Jr. was dominant in the secondary. Over 34 collegiate games, he recorded 86 solo tackles, 113 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, 20 swatted passes, and one interception. He will now join a Steelers secondary headlined by Minkah Fitzpatrick and Patrick Peterson. With his debut, the Steelers will now once again see 24 back in action.