Porter to retire a Steeler

by Ryan Ebert

After 13 years in the NFL veteran linebacker Joey Porter decides to hang it up, and wants to retire with the team he first started with.  Porter said that he would be honored to retire a Steeler.

“That’s where I started at, It’ll be an honor to go out there and retire as a Steeler. Started there, end there. Thirteen years. I never thought I’d play that long when I first started.”

In those 13 years Porter was a four-time Pro Bowler that finished with 170 starts, 503 tackles, 98 sacks, 25 forced fumbles, 12 interceptions, and 46 pass deflections.  The thirty-five year-old played with the Arizona Cardinals the last two years and before that played three seasons with the Miami Dolphins.

 “I plan on retiring this year,” Porter said. “I already talked to the Steelers, put some plans together on signing with the Steelers and retiring as a Steeler. It was a good career. I have no regrets about nothing.”

Porter said that health was a big factor in his decision.

“Not being able to get 100 percent healthy to play at the level I am accustomed to playing at,” Porter said, telling about the reason. “The last two years, I tried to play and I wasn’t out there as healthy as I’ve been in the past. This year, I knew my knee wasn’t getting any better as far as this season. It made the decision kinda easy, actually.”

Steelers president Art Rooney II, GM Kevin Colbert, and the coaches were talked to by Porter.

“They welcomed me back,” he said. “I’ll sign back with them.“