Joey Porter Jr. hasn’t appeared in a game for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season and was listed as out with a back injury before Thursday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns. Now, reports indicate he won’t be with Pittsburgh for that matchup at all.
Tom Pelissero reports the Cowboys are acquiring Porter in a trade that sends a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder to the Steelers. Dallas has been aggressive this offseason to rebuild its defense, hiring Eagles defensive coordinator Christian Parker to overhaul a unit that underperformed last year. After three games this season, however, the unit still hasn’t shown a clear turnaround.
This move follows Dallas’ past willingness to spend draft capital to upgrade the defense — notably the trade that brought Quinnen Williams from the Jets last year in exchange for a first- and second-round pick. Williams has continued to play at a high level, though the Cowboys’ defense overall remains a work in progress.
Porter, 26, started all 30 games he played across the last two seasons and established himself as one of Pittsburgh’s more reliable corners. He was entering the final year of his rookie contract and had expressed interest in a new deal; he also spent training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
The cornerback market shifted this offseason when 2023 draftees like Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez signed massive rookie-era extensions — Witherspoon for four years and about $132 million in August and Gonzalez for roughly $135 million in four years the following month. Unlike Porter, both were first-round picks and thus had a fifth-year option on their contracts, delaying their potential free agency beyond 2027. Porter was a second-round selection in 2023 (the first pick of that round), making this season the final guaranteed year of his rookie deal.
This is another in a string of recent moves between the two franchises involving established Steelers players. Earlier this year Dallas traded for offensive tackle Broderick Jones, and in May 2025 Pittsburgh sent wide receiver George Pickens to Dallas for draft compensation. Joey Porter Jr. also carries family ties to Pittsburgh: his father, Joey Porter, starred at linebacker for the Steelers from 1999–2006 and was part of their Super Bowl XL title team.
Fan Take: This trade matters because it underscores how impatient contenders are becoming to fix defensive flaws quickly, using draft capital to add proven young talent. For fans, Porter’s move to Dallas could accelerate a defensive rebuild there and also highlights the growing trend of teams converting promising but contract-uncertain young players into immediate help — a pattern that will shape roster construction leaguewide.
Source: www.foxsports.com
