Joey Porter Jr.’s stint with the Dallas Cowboys hasn’t gone swimmingly up to this point, making the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision to trade him earlier in the season look better by the day.
While speaking with reporters on November 12, Porter Jr. stated that “the whole foot is jacked up” and that he tweaked it against the Houston Texans in Week 4 (per ESPN/NFL Network’s Jane Slater), which was his first game for Dallas after being traded from the Steelers.
“The whole foot’s jacked up,” Porter said, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. “I was playing on it for a while, and it just kept getting worse to where I had to shut it down. I feel like all the guys are wanting me to get back. They know what I could do when I’m out there on the field. I bring a presence out there that is a game-changing type presence. I’m just trying to get back out there as fast as possible.”
Porter Jr. has missed two games for the Cowboys, first back in Week 5 due to an illness and then in Week 9 with his ankle/foot injury.
He’s reiterated that his absence isn’t due to his lack of a new contract, but it’s hard not to feel like Pittsburgh made the correct decision to move him when they did, especially considering the odds of Porter Jr. signing long-term with Dallas seem like they’re dropping.
Steelers Looking Like Clear Winners of Porter Jr. Trade
After Porter Jr. and the Steelers failed to reach terms on an extension ahead of Week 1 after he missed all of training camp while on the PUP list with a back injury, it soon became clear that he wasn’t going to suit up for the team in 2026.
Because Pittsburgh doesn’t negotiate contracts in-season, Porter Jr. would’ve had to wait until the offseason to restart talks with the organization.
Instead of playing out his rookie deal, though, he essentially held out for the first few weeks of the year in hopes of sparking some sort of movement on the Steelers’ end.
That entire saga came to an end when they traded him to Dallas in Week 4 for a 2028 second-round pick and a conditional 2027 sixth-rounder.
While it stung to lose Porter Jr., who looked like a potential franchise cornerstone after a breakout 2025 campaign, Pittsburgh landed strong value for him from the Cowboys and cut ties at the right moment instead of playing out the string.
With it now feeling less likely that Porter Jr. is going to sign an extension with Dallas, as previously mentioned, that only makes the notion that the Steelers won the trade even stronger.
Steelers Have Bested Dallas in Recent Trades
About a month before moving Porter Jr. to Dallas, Pittsburgh also sent Broderick Jones and a 2027 fourth-round pick its way in exchange for a 2027 third-rounder and a 2027 sixth-rounder ahead of the roster cutdown deadline in late August.
That felt like a good haul for the 2023 first-round pick, considering he was coming off a season-ending neck injury in 2025 and did not look like he was back up to speed throughout the summer.
Jones also didn’t have a locked-in spot with the Steelers after the team selected Max Iheanachor in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft in addition to rostering Dylan Cook.
The 25-year-old has gone on to log just 67 total snaps for the Cowboys, and since he’s on an expiring deal after his fifth-year option was turned down, it’s hard not to feel like Pittsburgh won that trade.
The George Pickens deal from May 2025 is more of a toss-up, as he’s also set to become an unrestricted free agent much like Porter Jr. and Jones in the offseason unless he’s franchise tagged for a second-straight year.
Pickens was excellent last season, posting 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns, though he’s taken a bit of a step back in 2026 with 533 yards and two scores over eight games for Dallas.
The Steelers also used the 2026 third-rounder they received as part of the package for Pickens on Drew Allar, who they hope can blossom into their next franchise quarterback.
There’s a world where the Cowboys don’t sign either Pickens or Porter Jr. to extensions. If that happens, Pittsburgh’s status as overall winners in its slew of trades with Dallas will only grow even further.
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