Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys didn’t hide what they wanted at training camp in Oxnard this summer. Back in July, the owner and general manager said he’d be willing to “give up the future” for a player who could make an immediate impact on a roster built to win now.
Two months later, Jones followed through. Dallas sent a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder to the Pittsburgh Steelers for cornerback Joey Porter Jr., marking the third trade between the two franchises since May 2025, following the deals that brought George Pickens and Broderick Jones to Dallas.
The move arrives at a telling point for Dallas, which sits at 1-2 after a 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and still hasn’t recorded an interception on defense.
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Injuries to Cobie Durant and Shavon Revel Jr. have only thinned the cornerback room further, leaving the Cowboys searching for answers in their secondary. According to Jordan Schultz, Dallas isn’t planning to extend Porter’s contract right away.
The plan is simple: let him play, let the impact speak for itself, and handle the money later. For a team with real aspirations in the NFC, that approach buys time while giving Porter a fresh start.
Porter wasted little time sending his own message to Cowboys fans. “Here I come… Dallas,” he wrote, adding his own meaning of ‘seat belt‘: “the opposing receiver is locked up.”
He missed Pittsburgh’s first three games this season with a reported back issue that surfaced after extension talks between the two sides stalled.
Since Pittsburgh selected him in the second round in 2023, the cornerback has started 41 of 47 career games, recording 165 tackles, three interceptions and 31 pass breakups. Last season alone, he posted 52 tackles and 14 passes defended across 14 games, numbers that explain Dallas’ aggressive pursuit.
He’s currently playing on a $3.05 million salary with free agency arriving in 2027, and one projection already has his next deal reaching four years and $110 million. That payday could land amid a crowded offseason for Dallas.
The Cowboys have 20 players set for unrestricted free agency, including six represented by agent David Mulugheta, with Pickens and Porter among that group heading into another decision-heavy winter.
For now, Porter’s Cowboys debut comes down to when the coaching staff clears him medically, with the first opportunity arriving Sunday, Oct. 4, when Dallas visits the winless Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET.
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