Apparently, the Dallas Cowboys think it’s getting late early, burning the midnight oil Wednesday night in order to make the latest reinvestment into their (still) problematic defense.
“America’s Team” is finalizing a trade for cornerback Joey Porter Jr., the Pittsburgh Steelers set to receive a sixth-round pick in next year’s draft and a Round 2 selection in 2028, Netflix insider Tom Pelissero first reported
on Sept. 30.The deal comes in the aftermath of a 1-2 start for the Cowboys, widely forecast to be a Super Bowl contender this season but struggling to get out of the gate – their shaky defense once again largely responsible for undermining them. The Steelers, meanwhile, stand at 2-1 in a four-way tie for first (and last) place in the AFC
North. However Porter really wasn't a meaningful component, yet to play a snap this season while angling for a new contract and, conveniently, nursing a back injury. He’d already been ruled out of the Steelers’ game on Thursday night at Cleveland before news of the trade broke.
So who got the best of an early season deal that already sends a fairly major ripple through the league six weeks ahead of the trade deadline? Your winners and losers:
WINNERS
Jerry Jones
Is it a good move for the Cowboys? Is it a bad one? Who cares! After an unusually quiet training camp, their bumpy start has been atop the news cycle lately – and certainly in the aftermath of their collapse in a 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in the league’s first regular-season game in Rio de Janeiro. But acquiring Porter helps push Week 3’s issues – which included mind-numbing game management decisions by the offense, defense and special teams – onto the backburner … or at least a middle burner. Regardless, the spotlight will remain trained on Jones’ team for the next few days, which is just how he likes it, particularly when he’s at the center of the story. Whether this proactive gamble jump-starts his squad’s championship ambitions as it tries to end a 31-year drought without a single Lombardi Trophy remains to be seen.
Joey Porter Jr.
Fresh start. An opportunity to get the long-term extension he’s seeking from Dallas, or at least a high-profile platform to showcase his wares and fuel what could become a frenzied market for his services next March – when the supply/demand side of the cornerback free agent market might vault Porter into the $30-plus-million-a-year top-tier tax bracket of the position. Whether a player who’s never even been named a Pro Bowler is worthy of it is another question entirely, but we'll know more soon.
Christian Parker
Dallas’ ballyhooed rookie defensive coordinator hasn’t lived up to his advance billing, his defense mauled by the New York Giants on opening night before allowing the Ravens to complete a 27-yard catch-and-run to Pro Bowl WR Zay Flowers, preceding a game-winning 56-yard field goal … all in the span of 7 seconds. Is Porter the next Darrelle Revis or even Patrick Surtain II? Absolutely not. Would he have more effectively covered Flowers and maybe limited him to a 15-yard gain? Maybe. Is he the missing piece in Big D’s D? We’ll see. But he’s very much a needed asset for Parker as he tries to get this unit on the tracks.
LOSERS
Christian Parker
The Cowboys ranked 30th in total defense in 2025, Jones lamenting they didn’t play “a lick of defense” and effectively blaming the unit for the team’s failure to qualify for the playoffs. Through three weeks of the 2026 campaign? The Cowboys rank 30th in total defense. The Porter acquisition comes less than a year after Jones obtained Pro Bowl DT Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets for a second-round pick in the 2026 draft and a first-rounder in next year’s highly anticipated one. The message here to Parker – and the rest of the team – is pretty unmistakable.
Cowboys' track record at cornerback
They (over)paid Trevon Diggs (5 years, $97 million) and are still haunted by the dead salary cap money. They (over)paid Daron Bland (4 years, $90 million) and are likely to be haunted by that deal, too. Shavon Revel Jr., Kaiir Elam, Stephon Gilmore, Cobie Durant − they have all failed to stabilize the position in recent years, too. And while Jones was right to pay up for Deion Sanders three decades ago, he’s not getting anything close to a Prime Time corner in Porter now.
George Pickens
Like Porter, he’s a former Steeler. Like Porter, he’s likely to reel in a massive bag next year. But Pickens’ once and future teammate’s presence – and the investment made to get him – would seemingly make it even less likely he remains with the Cowboys, who very clearly signaled earlier this year that he would not be paid beyond his $27.3 million franchise tag in 2026. And this really is an ideal situation for Pickens, where he can rack up bodacious numbers opposite CeeDee Lamb, who’s usually going to draw a defense’s best corner or at least a double team – and will also deflect much of the media glare from a player who might be the league’s premier WR2. But not gonna be easy for Jones to retain both Porter and Pickens – and he can most certainly tag only one, and that probably won’t be Pickens given it would cost at least $32.8 million in 2027.
Omar Khan
The Steelers GM keeps sending top players to Dallas. He keeps, arguably, taking 70 cents on the dollar – and was perhaps hamstrung in this scenario by Pittsburgh’s policy of not negotiating contract extensions once a season starts. And maybe opting not to (over?)pay Porter was the right call − maybe even a welcome bailout − given all the money that’s already been sunk into an aging defense that’s proven year after year that it can only carry this team so far. Yet having to wait for the payoff, the 2028 second-rounder, isn’t going to help Khan get his quarterback of the future in a 2027 draft expected to have numerous blue-chip options at the position … unless he winds up using it as part of a hefty trade package in a bid to target one. Still, as competitive as the Steelers perennially are – and they’re shaping up that way again – it’s likely going to be a steep climb into the top echelon of next year’s draft if Khan is once again trying to bag Ben Roethlisberger’s long-awaited successor.
Jerry Jones
If the 83-year-old owner isn't all in, he's also not holding much back. No first-rounder next year. No second-rounder the following year. A 33-year-old quarterback in Dak Prescott, who's compensated better than anyone at his position aside from Patrick Mahomes ... but without Mahomes' Super Bowl bona fides. Overspent on next year's cap − which will make retaining Porter and/or Pickens an even tougher challenge. Still trying to prove that dealing generational OLB Micah Parsons last year was the right move. Jones continues to make big bets, but he needs them to pay off. And very soon.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joey Porter Jr. trade winners and losers: Will Jerry Jones' big move actually help Cowboys?
