The Cowboys traded a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night for a cornerback who has not played a single snap this season. Joey Porter Jr. is a Cowboy, and the price tells you how badly Dallas needed a body in the secondary.
What Dallas Is Actually Getting
Porter is 26 and in the final year of the four-year, $9.61 million rookie contract he signed as the 32nd overall pick out of Penn State in 2023. There is no extension in place. Dallas acquired a few months of a player and the option to use a franchise tag later.
His 2026 statistics are easy to summarize: zero. He has been ruled out for all four weeks. His Week 4 designation was listed as not injury related, with conditioning and his back cited, marking a fourth straight absence. He was a full participant in practice Monday and Tuesday, then limited on Wednesday.
The track record before this year is real. Across 2023 to 2025 he played 47 games with 41 starts, piling up 165 tackles, three interceptions and 31 pass breakups. In 2025 he allowed 35 catches on 66 targets for 412 yards with no touchdowns surrendered and one interception. That is a legitimate starting cornerback.
Why Pittsburgh Let Him Go
Money, and a front office that would not budge on timing. Porter wanted to be paid near the top of the cornerback market after Christian Gonzalez signed for four years and $135 million and Devon Witherspoon got four years and $132 million.
General manager Omar Khan drew the line publicly on August 31, saying the team does “no negotiations during the season.” Porter went on the physically unable to perform list in training camp with a back injury and was ruled out weekly after that.
For the record, Porter denied requesting a trade. Mike McCarthy, in his first season as the Steelers head coach, kept the door open before the deal. “He’s in the same situation that anyone is coming off of a medical situation,” McCarthy said last Sunday. “I’ve said from Day 1 I’d love to see Joey playing and I’d love the opportunity to coach him.”
Jerry Jones Was Circling for Days
Dallas interest was reported well before the deal closed, and Jones did not pretend otherwise. “I’d just say we’re right on top of it,” he said. “We’re very aware of the moving parts out here, we should be.”
ESPN’s reporting explains why it took as long as it did. Dan Graziano noted that teams were calling but were not “willing to offer enough in return to convince the Steelers to part with Porter AND also sign him to the contract he wants.” Jeremy Fowler reported Dallas had inquired but was not eager to give up major capital.
Detroit was the other real suitor and lost out, with Graziano describing the Lions as “desperate for help in the secondary” but boxed in by the extensions they have already handed out.
Porter’s own reaction came by Instagram on Thursday morning: “Here I come…Dallas,” with a blue heart.
The Verdict
Dallas is 1-2 and had cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Shavon Revel banged up heading into Week 4 against Houston. A 26-year-old with 41 career starts is a genuine upgrade over what was on the field.
But a second-round pick for a rental who has not practiced fully in a month, with no contract agreement and a back issue nobody has explained, is Jerry Jones paying retail for urgency. Pittsburgh, at 2-1, turned a player it refused to pay into real draft capital. The Steelers won this trade on the day it happened. Dallas can only win it in January.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.