Cowboys trade for Porter Jr.

You'd think after 24 thousand posts or whotnot I'd realize people have no context into what you might have said at lenght in another post or thread.

Yeah, I definitely think Dallas's #2 need was an elite CB, and with one landing in their laps of course they've gotta go get him.

Of course the #1 need was pass rush, as always.

But the run yardage numbers and lack of impact plays and turnovers tell us, that key as that CB was, the team is more than one player away from being what I'd comfortably call Superbowl-caliber.
 

Joey Porter Jr. trade grades: Cowboys land needed No. 1 CB, but what were Steelers thinking?​

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. reacts after an interception against the Dallas Cowboys during a game in 2024.

The Dallas Cowboys acquired cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers for two future draft picks. Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images

Jeff Howe
By Jeff Howe
Oct. 1, 2026 Updated Oct. 2, 2026 6:51 am EDT

The Dallas Cowboys acquired cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday night for a second-round pick in the 2028 NFL Draft and a sixth-round pick in 2027.

Why they made the move​

The 26-year-old was in a contract standoff with the Steelers, and the sides evidently reached a point of no return. Porter, a second-round pick in 2023, was first eligible for an extension during the offseason, and he didn’t participate in training camp or the team’s first three regular-season games because of back soreness that may have healed a bit more quickly with a nine-figure contract in his back pocket.

When there’s a notable player on the market, the Cowboys can usually be found lurking — even more so during their effort to restock following the Micah Parsons trade in 2025. The Cowboys needed a No. 1 cornerback to boost a defense that is off to another slow start, and credit to them for finding one without having to cough up their remaining first-round pick in 2027.

Cowboys trade grade: A-​

This is a great trade for the Cowboys, who would have gotten an A if Porter’s extension were already in place. That’s still a necessary order of business — one the Cowboys will be motivated to see through, but Porter has all the leverage. And considering Porter just leveraged his way out of Pittsburgh, where his father is royalty, it’s fair to assume the cornerback won’t be any more sentimental with these contract negotiations than the back-and-forth in Pittsburgh.

Porter is a very good man-coverage corner who should be a strong fit in Dallas’ system. He has had issues with penalties throughout his career, with 29 flags from 2023 to 2024, including 17 flags that led all defensive backs in 2024. Porter was better in 2025 with nine penalties. Of his 38 career penalties, including declined and offsetting flags, 35 were post-snap with an automatic first down. Some of that is the cost of doing business for a physical corner.

Steelers trade grade: F​

The Steelers hired coach Mike McCarthy to lead a veteran roster and stuck by quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the intention of being competitive now. And then they just traded one of their best defensive players for a second-round pick in 2028.

The asset management was worse because the Steelers knew Porter wanted a contract and misjudged the negotiation. Unless this move encourages the Steelers to package draft capital for a player this season, they’re worse for trading Porter both now and in 2027. It’ll look so much shoddier if they don’t hit on the second-rounder in 2028.

If the Steelers were apprehensive about meeting Porter’s market, they can fairly maintain Porter isn’t on the same tier as cornerbacks such as Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon, Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley Jr., all of whom established the $30 million benchmark at the position. The Steelers wouldn’t be the first team that’s apprehensive about overpaying homegrown talent.

However, the Steelers knew Witherspoon and Gonzalez were closing in on their extensions, and the cornerback market was booming — as it has been of late at other premium positions. This needed to be anticipated.

The Jets traded Gardner for two first-rounders before the 2025 deadline. The Chiefs moved Trent McDuffie for first-, third-, fifth- and sixth-round picks in March before the Rams added him to the $30 million club.

Maybe Porter isn’t in their class, but you still have to wonder: How did the Steelers essentially only get a future second-rounder for him?
 
Genghis Khan said:
Skattebo went 18 for 81, 4.5 YPC against us. Against the Rams he was 13/36/3.0. Against Tennessee he was 20/60/3.0.

So it's not like there's no red flags on our run defense when we let a complete JAG like Skattebo run on us like that.

The good news is we handled Henry pretty well so it looks better but I wouldn't say there shouldn't be a concern.
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But then we held Henry who is miles better than Jagaboo to 3.4 yds a carry and had to 2 shutdown plays on short yardage situations..
 
Breer reported that we were sniffing around Gonzalez during the offseason as well, if that's the case I think there's a good chance that they're planning on keeping Porter long term, because there's no way they'd be thinking of trading for a guy like Gonzalez without planning on keeping them for the long run.

Assuming he plays well of course.
 
Chocolate Lab said:
Above a 400 lb NT? :faint
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TBH, still not satisfied there. Kenny Clark has had too many subpar games as a Cowboy for every good game he's had like in Rio.

A high-caliber, young, interior DL would protect us initially with depth and well into the future as a starter.

I understand the priority is always pass rusher, and yes Pickens might also be gone-- but the value at EDGE or WR just might not be equal to the pick we're using.

For example, though I liked the player overall, I still think we picked Lawrence a little earlier than I'd have preferred. I would not want to do that again in the very next draft.

I think we've gotta hedge our DT's getting old on us-- like very, very soon.
 
bbgun said:
We better hope Q has the same kind of longevity as Leonard Williams and Fletcher Cox.
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I think he'll be ok.

He seems like a very intelligent and disciplined individual and he's great for the locker room.

And for all the talk of how he wasn't playing well, he sure looked damn good last week.
 
SaveAHorseRideACowboy said:
But then we held Henry who is miles better than Jagaboo to 3.4 yds a carry and had to 2 shutdown plays on short yardage situations..
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Definitely an encouraging sign, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't still concerned at the moment.

They also held the hyphen RB in Washington down pretty well so it's definitely trending well.
 
Genghis Khan said:
Definitely an encouraging sign, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't still concerned at the moment.

They also held the hyphen RB in Washington down pretty well so it's definitely trending well.
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I mean let’s keep it a buck .. if the Texans run all over us with their running back by committee the red flags will be on full display
 
Genghis Khan said:
Definitely an encouraging sign, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't still concerned at the moment.

They also held the hyphen RB in Washington down pretty well so it's definitely trending well.
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I think at this point it's just going to be hard as fans to trust our defense until this team can show consistent and sustained changes. We all have gotten so used to the inconsistency even when we have a good defense going back to the Quinn years.
 
Genghis Khan said:
I'll say this, he's excited to be here. That's a positive. He immediately jumped on a plane, didn't even sleep.
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If he did have an attitude in Pittsburgh this makes me not worry as much about him being a locker room problem here.
 
Cotton said:
If he did have an attitude in Pittsburgh this makes me not worry as much about him being a locker room problem here.
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From what I have heard he wasn't a locker room problem at all. More like the two sides just kind of went south over the contract. Basically Steelers fans are claiming Porter was in no way like the Pickens situation.
 
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