It’s easy to say a team should make a trade in the NFL when you don’t know exactly what the price would be. But last night, the hypothetical became reality. The Dallas Cowboys agreed to trade for Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
The price?- A 2028 second-round pick
- A 2027 sixth-round pick
While there is still a missing piece to this deal—a contract extension for Porter that may or may not be coming—we now know what it would have taken for the Detroit Lions to get a deal done and add what was likely to be the best cornerback available before the NFL
trade deadline.
So today’s Question of the Day is simple:
Should the Lions have made the Joey Porter Jr. trade?
My answer: We talked about this pretty extensively on this week’s PODcast, and I am going to stand by my answer: I think the Lions should have done this.
As I dug deeper and deeper into the film from Detroit’s first three games, the more and more convinced I became that the majority of their defensive problems could be placed at the hands of their cornerbacks. The defensive line is getting significant pressure, the Lions’ safeties have actually been playing okay (especially after Christian Izien got his feet wet), and while the linebacker room has been a disappointment thus far, there’s enough talent in that room to believe they’ll turn it around.
But it’s hard to trust anyone in the Lions cornerback room right now because of the amount of mistakes they’re making. Whether it’s missed assignments, not being able to make a play on the ball when in position, or just straight up getting beat, opposing quarterbacks have been punishing the Lions defense mostly as a result of poor cornerback play. If you don’t trust your eyes, the PFF grades agree. The Lions rank 13th in run defense grade, fifth in pass rush grade, first in tackling grade, and 22nd in coverage grade. And here’s how Detroit’s outside cornerbacks rank individually in PFF coverage grade:
- D.J. Reed: 60.5 (49th out of 106 qualifying CBs)
- Roger McCreary: 47.7 (88th)
- Rock Ya-Sin: 40.8 (97th)
Now, is Porter the magic elixir that will make everything better? I don’t know. There are certainly some questions about his game that many have glossed over. His coverage grades of the last three years were not extremely eye-popping: 66.6, 57.1, and 76.6. More concerning, he has tallied 38 penalties over three seasons. Assuming he’d just come in and immediately perform well is very much an assumption at this point.
Still, he’s a good fit stylistically, his 2025 season was his best and extremely promising, and it’s hard not to look at his career passer rating allowed (71.5) and not crave something like that on a team that is otherwise pretty well built.
The cost is the last thing to discuss, and it’s always hard to fully comprehend the value of draft picks. Losing a 2028 second-round pick doesn’t feel like a high cost until it’s draft day, though not many teams regret giving up a sixth-round pick. Ultimately, I think the Lions could very much afford to give up a future second if it means potentially having a good, young cornerback in tow for 2026 and hopefully beyond.
The extension part is the missing data point to fully comprehend the value of this move. At this point, it doesn’t appear the Cowboys have a deal in place with Porter, and it’s unclear if the 26-year-old cornerback will play on the last year of his rookie deal. But this was always going to be the toughest pill to swallow for the Lions. With their tight budget and hesitancy to give massive contracts to outside players, it’s not surprising that they weren’t willing to trade for a corner who is reportedly seeking around $30 million a year. And perhaps they aren’t interested in a one-year rental after their Carlton Davis trade just left them in the same boat of needing a good cornerback the next season.
Still, I think it’s about time this team took on a risk and made a play for a player who could fix a massive problem this year and potentially be a solution well beyond 2026. The cornerback problem has gone on long enough. It’s time to pay a little more for some long-term reassurance.
