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The Cowboys desperately needed corner help for a defense that floundered despite improvements made during the offseason. I will commend Jerry Jones for not standing idly by, but doing what we’ve been asking general managers for years: be bold, take action, and not overvalue your own choices over the course of a season. We won’t know if the trade will pay off in the long run, but the Cowboys have certainly improved in 2026.

At his peak, Porter is a physical cover man who can be sticky on the outside and mirror higher receivers. He’ll fit right into Christian Parker’s scheme, allowing Dallas to play man coverage on the outside with more physicality than in the first three weeks. Sure, he racks up some penalties, but so do most CBs. You’ll live with the tradeoff for a corner with JPJ’s skills.

The fact that Dallas didn’t have to give up a top pick until 2028 also improved his grade. Assuming Porter plays, the Cowboys get a high-end CB for a relatively cheap upfront cost. Jones appears to be hoping he can copy the success he had with the George Pickens trade, pushing back long-term negotiations until later. It’s a needle threader but it might work. If Porter plays well, Dallas could extend him this offseason, use the franchise tag on the CB or let him walk and recoup a potential third-round compensatory pick in 2028. Perhaps moving down a round in 28 and giving up a sixth-rounder for a potential Pro Bowl player in a year where you’re all-in is a stellar move. If Porter delivers 14 games of high-level play, it’s worth it.

Of course, if Porter gets hurt or implodes, it’s all for naught. However, if he continues on this path, it’s a short-term win for the Cowboys. The long-term question can be left aside.

I don’t blame the Steelers for not wanting to pay Porter top dollar. If he was looking for a $30 million type deal, along the lines of Christian Gonzalez or Devon Witherspoon, I would have been hesitant as well. JPJ is good. He’s not at that level. Trading him relieved Pittsburgh of that problem.

The problem I have is that it appears Steelers general manager Omar Khan either overplayed his hand or didn’t anticipate Porter’s courage when it came to a new deal. If Khan never planned to meet the corner’s contractual demands, he should have acted in the spring or early summer. A player of Porter’s caliber is worth more than a second-round pick two drafts later. The timing of the impasse reduced the compensation.

Now the Steelers are without a top corner and find themselves thin and young at the position. This is not a good combo!

If things go south in Pittsburgh, it’s fair to wonder if Khan will even be around to make that second-round pick in 2028. The general manager took over in 2022 and received early praise for gouging the Bears in the Chase Claypool trade that brought back a second-rounder. That choice became Porter. Khan has now moved it for pennies on the dollar. Add in a string of mediocre drafts, the Pickens trade and other questionable moves, and the seat in Pittsburgh could get hot for Khan if the Steelers flounder.