The Joey Porter Jr. standoff is over. Pittsburgh traded the cornerback to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder, and Steelers captain Cam Heyward made it clear the locker room isn’t losing sleep over it, as first reported by ClutchPoints.
“We’ve been playing without Joey for the last three weeks,” Heyward said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski. “I wish him the best, but as players on this team, we have to be professional and be ready.”
Why It Got Here
Porter, 26, was inactive for Pittsburgh’s first three games with what the Cowboys’ official site called a non-injury conditioning issue, after the two sides couldn’t agree on an extension. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal. The 2023 second-round pick out of Penn State has 41 starts in 47 games, with 165 tackles, 31 pass breakups and three interceptions.
Porter didn’t hide how the process felt. “Definitely felt disrespected. Definitely felt undervalued. But that’s old news now,” he said, per Sports Illustrated. He’s also ready to put down roots, saying he wants to finish his career in Dallas.
The IAHHM Take
This one stings for the culture of Pittsburgh. Porter’s father, Joey Porter, was a fan-favorite Steelers linebacker, so the son leaving with hard feelings hits different than a normal contract split.
For Dallas, it’s a need-based swing. The Cowboys are banged up at corner with Shavon Revel and South Carolina’s own Cobie Durant dealing with injuries, and they face Houston on Sunday. Porter’s a physical, press-man corner, which is exactly the kind of energy that secondary needed.
Heyward is right that the Steelers’ on-field plan doesn’t change. But a 2028 second for a 26-year-old starter? Who won this trade, Pittsburgh or Dallas?
More: IAHHM Sports.
Source: ClutchPoints | Additional reporting: DallasCowboys.com, Sports Illustrated
