Just a few ticks past midnight, news broke that the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys. His familiar No. 24 won't automatically make the trip with him. Dallas already has somebody wearing it.
The jersey question is trivial compared with Pittsburgh losing its 26-year-old starting cornerback, but it's also the first visible reminder that Porter really is gone. Still Curtain had already followed the Cowboys trade speculation before a month-long contract saga finally produced the breakup.
Pittsburgh received a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick for Porter, according to NFL Network. Porter, the 32nd overall pick in 2023, leaves without playing a 2026 regular-season snap after a back issue, conditioning work, and failed extension talks consumed his September. The ending had become increasingly plausible as Porter's trade standoff worsened.
Malik Hooker could hold the key to former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. keeping No. 24 with Dallas Cowboys
Porter doesn't have a confirmed Cowboys number yet, he's probably just booked his flight, but a look at Dallas' roster shows that No. 24 currently belongs to safety Malik Hooker. No. 9, Porter's number at Penn State, belongs to wide receiver KaVontae Turpin. Porter wore No. 9 throughout his career as a Nittany Lion.
So unless Hooker agrees to switch, Porter won't keep No. 24. And NFL players have spent serious money to pry their preferred numbers away from teammates. No. 24 even has a perfect precedent. In 2022, Gerald McCoy forked over $250,000 to secure No. 93 from fellow defensive tackle Kyle Love.
That gives Hooker some pretty nice negotiating leverage if Porter wants to keep the number he's worn throughout his Steelers career. These deals are between the players, and if Hooker loves No. 24, Porter may have to make him an offer that's tough to refuse.
The more sentimental option is No. 9, although Turpin would have to cooperate too. My guess is Porter has a better shot at reclaiming his college number than convincing a veteran safety to surrender the number he's worn in Dallas. Either way, somebody has to say yes.
The number negotiation is the amusing side story to a trade that leaves Pittsburgh with a much tougher evaluation. A future second and sixth are respectable salvage after the relationship deteriorated, but this isn't how the Steelers wanted the No. 32 pick of the 2023 draft to end. They developed Porter into a starting outside corner, couldn't finish an extension, and ultimately moved him before his rookie deal expired.
Dallas, meanwhile, had reasons to act. The Cowboys entered the deal 1-2, ranked 30th in total defense, and hadn't recorded an interception through three games. Porter joins DaRon Bland in a secondary that needed help, while becoming the latest former Steeler to land in Dallas after George Pickens and Broderick Jones.
Porter hadn't played this season and had already been ruled out of Pittsburgh's Thursday night game against Cleveland. Dallas visits Houston on Sunday, so his new jersey number may become official before his actual Cowboys debut does.
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