Joey Porter Jr., no longer a Pittsburgh Steeler, has been traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for multiple draft picks from the 2027 and 2028 NFL Drafts. The Steelers opted to (finally) put an end to the Porter saga in Pittsburgh, leaving a few key takeaways to consider following the trade.
From the emergence of another starting cornerback to pondering if a trade was really the best move for Pittsburgh's 2026 roster, here's a look at several takeaways from the Steelers-Cowboys Porter trade.
Did Asante Samuel Jr. lead to Porter's exit?
Out of any of the Steelers on rookie deals heading into the 2026 offseason, Porter appeared to be the most untradeable. Or so we thought. Perhaps the Steelers' decision to part ways with a premium lockdown cornerback was made easier by the stellar play
of Samuel at training camp.
Why the Cowboys (again)?
After the Porter deal, the Steelers and Cowboys have completed three separate trades in the past two years. Pittsburgh traded George Pickens to Dallas in May 2025 and Broderick Jones just before final roster cuts in August 2026. Considering the Cowboys have basically given up only two third-round draft picks and one second-round draft pick to land Pickens, Jones, and Porter, the Steelers don't exactly look like the winners in these deals.
Porter potentially played the Steelers
Many speculated that Porter's back injury had more to do with contractual drama than an actual health setback. After missing the first three games with a conditioning and back injury designation, Porter was still able to entice the Cowboys to give up a premium draft pick in 2028. If there was more to his absence than the injury designation suggested, which many believe to be the case, the Steelers may have let Porter walk all over them in this situation without so much as a single fine.
Was a trade really the best move?
The Steelers held all the cards in the Porter situation, but now their roster is in worse shape in what's supposed to be Aaron Rodgers' boom-or-bust retirement tour with head coach Mike McCarthy. Paying Porter would've likely been the better move. Calling his potential bluff on the back injury and fining him should've been the next step if he refused to play. The Steelers also had a franchise tag option to use to restart negotiations following the 2026 season. Unfortunately, general manager Omar Khan decided it was best to pull the plug on arguably the Steelers' best man-coverage cornerback in the past decade.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Biggest takeaways from Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. trade with Cowboys
