Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones teased making a major move after the team's 37-20 Week 2 win over the Washington Commanders. Jones made good on his word late Wednesday night by acquiring cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick, a team source confirmed. The news was first reported by The Ringer.
Porter Jr. did not suit up for the Steelers in the first three weeks because he was in a staredown with Pittsburgh to secure a long-term contract extension. The 26-year-old, the first pick of the second round in the 2023 NFL Draft, enters the final year of his rookie deal this season and reportedly sought more than $30 million per year on a new deal. Six cornerbacks in the entire league have such a contract, and Pittsburgh maintains a tradition of not negotiating multi-year extensions during a season.
Porter Jr. held himself out of play with what the team officially listed as both back and condition issues, and he will now be a Cowboy. Porter Jr. has a solid argument for a substantial raise despite no Pro Bowl selections and just three career interceptions in three seasons — one each year. He led the NFL in passer rating against as the primary defender in coverage in 2025, among 128 players with at least 60 pass attempts thrown their way, with a 49.1 passer rating allowed.
No other corner allowed a sub-50 passer rating against, so Porter can claim he was in a different stratosphere as a cover corner than the rest of the league the last time he took the field. Porter Jr. ranked ahead of other All-Pro and Pro Bowl cornerbacks who have received big paydays in recent years, like Patrick Surtain II (four years, $96 million), Derek Stingley Jr. (three years, $90 million) and Christian Gonzalez (four years, $135 million). Gonzalez's $33.75 million average per-year salary is the highest among all NFL corners.
Porter Jr.'s 48.1% career completion percentage allowed ranks as the fourth-lowest in the NFL since he entered the league in 2023 among those with at least 150 passes thrown their way, per CBS Sports Research. Porter Jr. is currently set to become a free agent next offseason, but the Cowboys could franchise tag him if they fail to come to an agreement on a new deal before the start of the 2027 league year. The 2027 offseason will be a tricky one for Dallas, with Pro Bowl wide receiver George Pickens also set to become a free agent.
Dallas could tag him for a second year in a row if the two sides fail to reach a new long-term agreement with the 25-year-old wideout. Dallas currently possesses $20.8 million in cap space in 2026, the eighth-most in the NFL per OverTheCap.com. Whatever the Cowboys don't use this year can be rolled over to their 2027 cap ledger, which currently sits at -$13.1 million.
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