Assessment of the Joey Porter Jr. Trade
p/c: Barry Reeger
Jason Shetler
The saga surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers and Joey Porter Jr. has finally reached a conclusion.
Multiple reports surfaced late Wednesday night that the Steelers are finalizing a trade that would send Porter to the Dallas Cowboys, in exchange for a 2027 conditional sixth round pick and a 2028 second round pick.
Pittsburgh selected Porter in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Steelers obtained that pick from the Chicago Bears, at the 2022 trade deadline, as part of the Chase Claypool deal.
The former Penn State product had a career year in 2025, as he was rated one of the top cover cornerbacks in the league; posting a passer rating against of 57.2.
Porter entered this past offseason as a sure fire extension candidate. Both sides, however, were unable to come to terms, before the start of the season. The Steelers reportedly offered Porter an AAV of $27 million, which apparently wasn’t good enough for Porter’s liking.
Going into training camp, Porter had dealt with a lingering back issue. The apparent injury caused him to miss the entire preseason, as well as the first few weeks of the regular season.
Despite being a full participant in practice on Monday and Tuesday, Porter’s back supposedly flared up on Wednesday, which ruled him out, for Pittsburgh’s Week 4 Thursday night matchup versus the Cleveland Browns.
Assessment of the trade: Dallas obviously fills a big need at cornerback, with the addition of Porter.
While the Steelers might have viewed Porter as a seemingly disgruntled player, who would serve as a distraction, the return feels underwhelming, especially when the second round pick isn’t even for next year’s draft.
The trade of Porter is likely to prompt the Steelers to go out and bring in another CB to replace him.