Just last week, Joey Porter Jr. told reporters he “definitely” would play for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season despite a contract standoff and a lingering back issue.
That’s not going to happen. The Steelers have traded the fourth-year cornerback to Dallas for a second-round 2028 draft pick and a sixth-round 2027 pick, the Cowboys announced Thursday morning.
“Here I come…… Dallas,” Porter wrote on a post to his Instagram Stories early Thursday.
The son of a former Steelers great — Joey Porter Sr. won a Super Bowl with the Steelers during his 13 years as an NFL linebacker and spent several years with the team as a defensive coach — Porter was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2023 draft. He broke up 31 passes over his first three seasons.
Porter missed all of training camp and preseason while on the Steelers’ physically unable to perform list because of the reported back issues. During the same period of time, he and the Steelers were unable to come to terms on a contract extension on the rookie deal that was set to expire after this season. The Steelers do not negotiate contracts once a season has begun.
Since the season started, Porter has been a limited participant in practices but was inactive in all three games. As the Steelers prepared to face the Cleveland Browns on “Thursday Night Football” this week, Porter was listed as a full participant in practice, although the team added a back injury to Porter’s injury status on Wednesday.
Porter is the third Steelers player traded to the Cowboys in the last two years, following receiver George Pickens last year and offensive lineman Broderick Jones just before this season started. First-year Steelers coach Mike McCarthy was the Cowboys coach from 2020 to 2024.
Last year, a contract dispute led Dallas to deal star edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers just before the start of the regular season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.