Pittsburgh Steelers trade CB Joey Porter Jr. to Dallas Cowboys, according to Tom Pelissero of The Ringer.
According to Ari Meriov, the trade terms include Pittsburgh getting back a 2nd round pick. Not all details are known and will be updated in this article. It’s also unclear if Dallas plans to immediately sign him to a contract extension.
UPDATE (11:51 p.m.): According to Jordan Schultz, the Steelers are receiving a conditional 2nd and 6th round pick for Porter.
UPDATE (11:59 p.m.): According to Jonathan Jones of The Athletic, the 2nd round pick is for 2028. The conditional 6th round pick (conditions currently unknown) is for the upcoming 2027 draft.
According to Cowboys beat reporter Todd Archer, the 6th round pick Pittsburgh is getting this season was the one the Steelers sent to the Cowboys as part of the George Pickens trade in 2025. In effect, Pittsburgh is getting that 6th rounder back for Pickens.
UPDATE (00:03): According to Schultz, the Cowboys won’t immediately re-sign Porter. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
In his newsletter, Pelissero included the following details on the trade negotiations.
“The Cowboys first called about Porter — who sat out training camp amid contract negotiations and hasn’t played this season, citing a back injury — a few weeks ago. But the trade talks have really ramped up in recent days, finally coming to a head less than 24 hours before Pittsburgh’s game against the Browns at Cleveland was scheduled to kick off on Thursday night.”
This is the third trade between Pittsburgh and Dallas in the last two years, following the May 2025 deal involving WR George Pickens and last month’s trade that returned OT Broderick Jones.
Jordan Schultz noted that the Detroit Lions and New York Giants also expressed interest in Porter, but the Dallas deal sealed it.
Considered one of the team’s top extension priorities entering the offseason, the Steelers failed to reach a deal with Porter before the regular season deadline, despite extending a few of his 2023 draft classmates. Ultimately, they decided to trade him rather than continue the ongoing game of contract chicken.
Trade talks soured after the two sides failed to reach an agreement before the team’s season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. In sharing the news that Porter would miss the game with a back injury, ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted that Porter had “previously requested” a trade from the Steelers and that Pittsburgh was “open” to listening to offers. In the weeks since, many teams have been linked to Porter.
Porter missed the first three games of the season, bouncing between a “back” and “non-injury/conditioning related” injury according to official reports. Most recently, he was a full participant in training before being ruled out ahead of Thursday night, appearing again with a back problem.
Although contract issues were the primary cause of this decision, the emergence of Asante Samuel Jr. and rookie Daylen Everette gave the Steelers additional confidence in their ability to move on from Porter without leaving a major hole in the secondary. That idea was complicated by Jalen Ramsey’s broken wrist, but Porter is of no use to the team if he refuses to show up and play.
Jordan Schultz was the first to suggest that teams around the league were generating interest in a possible Porter trade amid a stalemate in negotiations. Local writer Mark Kaboly dismissed the report, saying they had no interest in trading him unless they got “something crazy” in return.
Porter refuted the notion that he was looking to become the highest-paid player at the position, but he was clearly looking for something more than what was on offer. According to PG’s Gerry Dulac, he turned down just over $27 million per season, with the structure and guarantees of the offer undisclosed.
Drafted 32nd overall in 2023 – technically a second-round pick after the Miami Dolphins lost their first-round pick that year – Porter immediately showed immense promise. By the time he got his first starts, he was already guarding No. 1 receivers and stopping them regularly. His second season was less consistent, with significant penalties and tackling issues, but he managed to clean that up for a very good 2025.
Porter isn’t widely considered a top-10 cornerback yet, but he’s easily in the conversation to make that jump this year and beyond. Notably, he hasn’t allowed a single touchdown over the past two seasons.
The Steelers rarely let a local player like this go. This is especially rare considering the legacy Joey Porter Sr. left in Pittsburgh as a member of the team’s Hall of Honor. But action was needed in the face of the worsening situation in recent weeks.
Pittsburgh now receives significant recruiting capital in return to help accelerate its transition into the next era after Aaron Rodgers retires.
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