Joey Porter Jr. has not played this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it didn’t look like he was close to seeing the field. He was ruled out with a back injury ahead of Thursday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns.
Well, Porter will reportedly not even be part of the Steelers organization for that game.
According to Tom Pelissero, Porter is going to be traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth.
It’s no surprise that the Cowboys have made a big move. Dallas hired defensive coordinator Christian Parker from the Eagles to revamp a unit that significantly held the team back last season. Through three games, though, it doesn’t look like the defense has greatly improved.
Last season, when the Cowboys got off to a slow start, they traded a first- and second-round pick to the Jets for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The deal has worked out well in that Williams has continued playing at a high level, but the defense as a whole still needs to improve.
Since his rookie season in 2023, Joey Porter Jr. has been the Steelers’ most consistent defensive back. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Dallas is coming off a 34-31 loss to the Ravens that saw quarterback Lamar Jackson deliver late heroics to set up a game-winning 56-yard field goal. The drive started with just 7 seconds remaining.
The 26-year-old Porter started all 30 games he appeared in over the past two seasons for Pittsburgh, establishing himself as a very good cornerback in the NFL. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Porter wanted a new deal. He was on the physically unable to perform list during camp.
The cornerback market was reset during the offseason, with the Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon getting a four-year deal worth $132 million in August. The next month, Patriots standout Christian Gonzalez got $135 million over four years.
Both Witherspoon and Gonzalez, like Porter, were drafted in 2023. The difference is that they were first-round picks, which means there was an option for a fifth year on their rookie contracts. Assuming those were picked up, they could not hit free agency until after the 2027 season.
Porter was a second-round pick in 2023, the first pick of the round, by the Steelers. This was firmly the final year of his contract.
This is the second time that these two teams have made a trade for an established Steelers starter. Dallas acquired offensive tackle Broderick Jones and a fourth-round pick in late August for a third and sixth.
Pittsburgh sent another key player to Dallas back in May 2025, when wide receiver George Pickens was sent to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth.
Porter’s dad, linebacker Joey Porter, famously played for the Steelers from 1999-2006 and won Super Bowl XL with the team.
