Joey Porter Jr. is headed to the Dallas Cowboys. According to several reports.
A contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as a back injury kept Porter out to start the season. But now, thanks to a trade — the third between Pittsburgh and Dallas in recent years — Porter is headed to the NFC East.
In the deal, the Cowboys will send a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick to Pittsburgh for the cornerback, who was the Steelers’ 32nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Let’s take some steps.
Cowboys level for Joey Porter Jr. trade
Jerry Jones continues to be talented on the defensive side of the ball.
A year ago, the Cowboys struggled on defense, especially against the pass. Dallas allowed opponents to post adjusted net yards on 8.0 attempts last season, the second-worst number in the NFL behind the New York Jets, who instead did not record a single interception all season.
That leads to a season of additions on defense. Not only did Jones trade for Rashaan Gary and Dee Winters, but the team added Kobe Durant and Von Miller during free agency, then used first-round picks on defense, along with Caleb Downs and Milky Lawrence. Dallas added Jaishawn Barham in the third round, and LT Overton in the fourth round.
But the depth, or lack thereof, has been tested by injuries to the secondary, and it has forced some adjustments on the ball side. Durant is out with a hamstring injury, safeties PJ Locke, Jalen Thompson and Malik Hooker are hurt, and cornerback Shavon Revel hurt his knee in the Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
These injuries saw Downs, who was suited to safety, slide down to play in the slot, while Darron Bland, best suited as a slot corner, was forced to play on the outside.
Acquiring Porter gives first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker a way to address those issues. Porter can play outside – allowing Parker Bland to move into the slot and Downs back into the safety role – or Parker Bland can decide to keep Porter outside of Porter (giving him a strong one-two combination at cornerback) and put Downs in the slot to help with the run, and help the linebacker unit.
In any case, the defense, which seems to have exhausted its options, is suddenly determined.
And with Dallas giving up a sixth-round pick in 2027, and a second-round pick in 2028, that’s a fair price to pay for top talent at cornerback, and some adjustments for your defense.
The Steelers step up for the Joey Porter Jr. trade
The decision to move Porter has become inevitable over the past few weeks.
But it was not to be.
As the season began, Porter’s contract demands — reportedly seeking a max-market deal for cornerbacks — could not be met. But that became impossible when the rift between the two sides clouded over big paydays for Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez.
Suddenly, the difficult negotiating position for general manager Omar Khan (either for Porter’s new contract or for a trade) became that much more difficult.
He was able to get what he could for Porter, but one can’t help but wonder what could have been returned if this trade had been made last March. Because getting a 2027 sixth-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick, seems like a fair price for a young corner who barely came off the board at 32. Overall. (It’s worth mentioning that the Miami Dolphins made Porter a second-round pick that year because they forfeited their first-round pick for violating the league’s anti-guard policy).
At the very least, a trade last spring would have you think Pittsburgh would get a 2027 second-round pick as part of the deal, if not a first-round pick.
Conversely, the Steelers could have approached Porter’s contract demands and struck a deal with him ahead of Witherspoon’s and Gonzalez’s contracts, keeping a young and rising star around for a few more years.
He went to Dallas instead.
By waiting, Pittsburgh was forced to take everything they got.
