The Dallas Cowboys have acquired cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Dallas confirming the trade in the NFL’s latest transaction roundup.
CBS Sports reported that the Cowboys sent Pittsburgh a 2027 sixth-round draft pick and a 2028 second-round selection for Porter. The move gives Dallas another established option in the secondary ahead of Week 4, but it also brings an immediate question over when the 26-year-old will be ready to play.
Porter did not appear in any of Pittsburgh’s first three games of the season. CBS Sports reported that he had been seeking a long-term contract extension while entering the final year of his rookie deal, and that the Steelers had officially listed him with back and condition issues during his absence.
The report said Porter had sought a deal worth more than $30m per year. It also said Pittsburgh maintains a tradition of not negotiating multi-year extensions during the season. Neither point establishes how contract discussions will develop in Dallas, but the Cowboys are acquiring a player whose longer-term status will need to be addressed after this season unless the parties reach an agreement.
Dallas add a recent high-level cover defender
Porter was the first pick of the second round in the 2023 NFL Draft and has recorded one interception in each of his three NFL seasons, according to CBS Sports. His case as a coverage defender is stronger than that interception total alone suggests.
CBS Sports Research reported that Porter allowed a passer rating of 49.1 in 2025 when he was the primary defender in coverage. Among 128 players targeted at least 60 times, that was the best mark in the NFL, the report said. It added that no other qualifying cornerback allowed a rating below 50.
The same research said that Porter has allowed opponents to complete 48.1% of passes thrown in his direction across his career. That ranked fourth-lowest among players who entered the league in 2023 and had faced at least 150 throws, according to CBS Sports.
Those figures cannot determine how quickly Porter will fit into Dallas’ defence, particularly after his three-game absence. They may, however, help explain why Dallas was willing to include a second-round pick two years from now for a player who has not yet made a Pro Bowl.
Dallas have been exposed defensively in the opening weeks, CBS Sports reported. The outlet said the Cowboys were allowing the third-most yards per game in the league and were among the bottom 10 teams in points allowed per game through three matches. Given Dallas’s early defensive struggles, Porter’s arrival may give the Cowboys another option in the secondary.
Contract issue follows Porter to Dallas
The trade does not resolve the contractual backdrop to Porter’s departure from Pittsburgh. CBS Sports said Porter is set to become a free agent next off-season and noted that Dallas could use the franchise tag if no new deal is reached.
That possibility should be treated as an option rather than a prediction. The deal leaves Dallas with a player entering free agency next off-season unless a new agreement is reached.
There is also a wider roster-management consideration. CBS Sports reported that Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens is likewise set to become a free agent after the season. The report said both Pickens and Porter are represented by Athletes First and agent David Mulugheta, although shared representation does not establish that the negotiations will be linked.
Week 4 is the immediate focus
For now, the key practical issue is Porter’s availability in Week 4. Porter’s Week 4 role was not detailed in the trade confirmation excerpt supplied for this report.
The Cowboys’ defensive numbers make the trade consequential in the short term, but Porter’s lack of game action this season means expectations of an instant, full workload would go beyond the evidence available.
Instead, Dallas have made a clear investment in a cornerback whose most recent full-season coverage data was among the league’s best. How swiftly that investment translates into playing time, and whether it leads to a long-term agreement, remain the next questions for the Cowboys.