Whether it's related to legitimate injuries or contract security, it hardly matters: Joey Porter Jr.'s situation with the Dallas Cowboys could lead to the Pittsburgh Steelers losing a draft pick.
As part of the Porter Jr. trade, the Steelers received a conditional 2027 sixth-round draft pick, with a requirement that seemed quite simple to fulfill at the time: Porter needs to be on the Cowboys' game-day roster for at least two games for Pittsburgh to receive the pick. Porter's "back injury" dilemma to start the season, Week 5 absence due to illness and recent ankle setback leave some to speculate that the Steelers have a small chance of actually losing this pick.
Has to be on Cowboys active game-day roster one more game for Steelers to get their
sixth-round pick. https://t.co/Am2fhRzmw0
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) October 17, 2026
Porter did appear in the Cowboys' Week 4 matchup against the Houston Texans, qualifying as his first game with Dallas. He played just 25 defensive snaps and ultimately missed the next game due to a last-minute illness.
Porter once again found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons this week, as he somehow picked up an ankle injury and was limited on Wednesday. Cowboys ownership expressed optimism in his Week 6 availability, only for Porter to downgrade to limited participation on Friday and head into Sunday's game with a questionable injury designation.
While some have speculated that Porter's absences, both with the Steelers and Cowboys, have more to do with contract issues than an actual health setback, both Pittsburgh and Dallas were looking for Porter to play out the final year of his rookie deal.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers could lose draft pick as Joey Porter Jr. drama with Cowboys gets worse
