Sources: Steelers to trade Joey Porter Jr. to Cowboys

After a lengthy and contentious contract standoff and a lingering back issue, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is going to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Steelers on Wednesday night agreed to trade Porter to the Cowboys for a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-rounder, sources told ESPN.

The trade marks the end of a monthslong saga that stretched throughout the Steelers' offseason as Porter, one of the team's 2023 second-round picks, awaited an extension and was sidelined by a back injury.

The heart of the dispute was the guaranteed money within the contract's structure, sources told ESPN, and the sides never made meaningful progress on agreeing to terms despite talks as late as hours before kickoff of the Steelers' Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Steelers then stopped talks because they don't negotiate during the regular season as a longstanding organizational principle.

Porter, who started 41 games and had three interceptions in three seasons, sat out all of the team's training camp and preseason after reporting an aggravation to the back injury during the team's mobility workout on the first day of camp. He was put on the physically unable to perform list until roster cutdown day in late August.

Porter was then a limited participant in every regular-season practice until earlier this week as coach Mike McCarthy said the cornerback was progressing through a "ramp-up" phase during the first month of the season.

Porter was inactive for each of the first three games and had been ruled out earlier Wednesday of the Steelers' game Thursday night against the Browns in Cleveland. The Steelers added a back injury to Wednesday's practice report in addition to the "not injury related-conditioning" description the team used for Porter's injury status for most of the past three weeks. Porter had previously been a full participant in the team's Monday and Tuesday walkthroughs.

His departure means the Steelers will continue to operate with Asante Samuel Jr., Jamel Dean and Daylen Everette rotating at outside cornerback. Everette, a 2026 third-round draft pick, played extended snaps in a Week 3 win against the Cincinnati Bengals, first coming in for a briefly injured Dean and then replacing Samuel for much of the second half.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones hinted during training camp that he would be willing to give up draft capital to help this season's team. Jones was asked on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Monday about a potential trade with reports of the team's interest in Porter.

While not specifically talking about Porter because of tampering rules, Jones said, "I'd just say we're right on top of it. We're very aware of the moving parts out here."

The Cowboys have had a need for cornerback help with Cobie Durant expected to sit out his second game because of a hamstring strain. In last weekend's loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Durant's replacement, Shavon Revel, injured his knee and ankle. He was limited in Wednesday's practice. Revel sat out the first eight games of his rookie season recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee sustained while at East Carolina, but the current injury is to his left knee.

At the end of the game against the Ravens, the Cowboys used backups Caelen Carson and Ameer Speed opposite DaRon Bland with Reddy Steward, a practice squad call-up, working the slot.

This is the third trade between the Cowboys and Steelers in the past two years. In May 2025, the Cowboys sent a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder to Pittsburgh for wide receiver George Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick.

In August, the Cowboys acquired tackle Broderick Jones and a 2027 fourth-rounder for third- and sixth-round picks in 2027.

The Ringer first reported news of the Porter trade.