The Dallas Cowboys have completed a trade of draft capital for talent with the Pittsburgh Steelers, acquiring the No. 32 selection from the 2023 draft in CB Joey Porter Jr. Dallas' secondary has been the victim of a ravaging injury bug through the first three weeks of the season that could see them without five of their top seven defensive backs in Week 4.
In acquiring the former Penn State Nittany Lion, the Cowboys have once again tapped an unusual resource. After spending the entire decade of the 1970s as bitter Super Bowl rivals, there's no love lost between perhaps the two most popular franchises in the NFL; at least among their fans. The front offices however have been quite chummy in the last 18 months as this is the third trade and fourth
exchange of connective tissue between the two organizations.
It's a weird match, but just goes to show that in a world where sports clubs are run by billionaires, the hatred and rivalry only exists in fans' minds. The guys sitting at the top are all about business and won't hesitate to work with someone they're supposed to hate. Even with all that said, the recent love affair between the two teams, with the Cowboys taking all the players the Steelers no longer seem to want, is an interesting dynamic.
The love affair started when, following not acquiring a wide receiver in the 2025 draft, Dallas sent their 2026 third-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick to the Steelers to nab disgruntled WR George Pickens along with a 2027 sixth-round pick.
Pickens paid immediate dividends for Dallas, posting a Second-Team All-Pro season with a career high of over 1,400 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
This past offseason, the Steelers parted ways with longtime coach Mike Tomlin and replaced him with Western PA native Mike McCarthy. McCarthy was of course most recently the Cowboys head coach from 2020 through 2024. He led Dallas to three straight 12-win seasons from 2021 through 2024 and has reunited with QB Aaron Rodgers. The two won a Super Bowl together, in the Cowboys' AT&T Stadium, with the Green Bay Packers in 2011.
When McCarthy joined the Steelers he added a handful of coaches and players who were with him in Dallas.
Then, at the end of this year's training camp, the club's swung another trade, with Dallas adding former first-round pick OT Broderick Jones. The Cowboys sent out their 2027 third-round pick and 2027 sixth-round pick and brought back Jones and the Steelers' fourth-round pick.
Now, the Cowboys are sending the Steelers back their 2027 sixth-round pick acquired with Pickens, along with a 2028 second-round pick to acquire Porter. The constant back and forth over the last two years is pretty incredible, with the talent flowing to Dallas and the draft compensation heading to PA.
Perhaps each side sees the other as marks.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Weird Cowboys-Steelers connection grows deeper with Porter trade
