The Dallas Cowboys have traded for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Dallas sent a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for Porter.
Porter had been dealing with injuries but was also holding out for a new contract during training camp and into the beginning of the regular season. He now adds some star power to a Cowboys secondary dealing with injuries, one that has been unable to close out games early in the season.
“I was excited,” Porter told reporters Thursday.
“I’m not even going to lie, I was actually at the movies when I got the call, so I had to leave the movies and went home.
“But I mean, I was blessed. I was excited. I called my people and they [were] excited with me. So, new chapter, new beginnings, and I’m ready.”
The son of iconic Steelers linebacker Joey Porter, he was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. In three seasons with the Steelers, he totaled 165 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, 31 passes defended, and three interceptions.
Throughout the offseason and training camp this year, however, Porter held out for a new contract with the Steelers. At the same time, he was dealing with a reported back injury and did not play for any of the first three games of the season.
Porter said he understood the business side of it, and wanted to leave his legacy in the past because he felt undervalued by the team. He said his father was not upset about his decision but was focused on supporting him.
In fact, he said that his whole family has grown up as Cowboys fans, so it is a full-circle moment for them. Porter is the third player the Cowboys have traded for from the Steelers, the others being wide receiver George Pickens in 2025 and offensive tackle Broderick Jones in August.
Porter said the team had tried to get him to fly out to Dallas on Wednesday night, but were unable to get the logistics right, so he had to take a red-eye flight and arrived at around 8 a.m. As a result, he had not slept at all.
Porter has, however, spoken to defensive coordinator Christian Parker about his role in the defense.
“I feel like I’m a lockdown player at the end of the day,” he said.
“I feel like I’m a ball player that could get anything done, what the coaches need from me, and I’m going to do whatever I need to for my teammates.
“I’m really just excited at the end of the day. I’m really just trying to hold my smile back.”
Porter said he intends to bring swagger and attitude to the defense.
More importantly, he fills an immediate need for reinforcements at cornerback. Cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Shavon Revel are both on the injured list this week, with Durant already ruled out. Porter had also been ruled out of this week’s game on Wednesday, but he said that decision was “more on [his] end.”
Porter will also look to elevate a flagging Cowboys defense. Dallas currently ranks 30th in the NFL in total yards allowed per game and 25th in points allowed per game.
The defense has also failed to show up in big moments at the end of games. In their 28–20 loss to the New York Giants in Week 1, the Cowboys gave up a 13-play drive that took eight minutes off the clock; the offense scored quickly to get back within a score, but the defense allowed the Giants to run out the clock.
In Week 3, against the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil, the Dallas defense allowed the go-ahead touchdown in the final 90 seconds of the game. The offense tied the game with a field goal, but the Ravens got into field goal range in just seven seconds and kicked the game-winner.
On an individual level, Porter said he wants to elevate his game, becoming not just a pure cover corner, but a ballhawk.
“Turnovers, I feel like that’s the next step for me,” he said.
“I think I’ve shown that I could take wide receivers out of the game. Now I just want my ball production to be up, and I’m going to try to strive for that.”
