After spurning the Pittsburgh Steelers and forcing his way out of town, Joey Porter Jr.'s Dallas Cowboys career was off to a rocky start—not because of his performance on the field, but due to his availability. Porter missed the Cowboys' Week 5 game because of an illness, and fans began to wonder if he was going to hold out all over again.
But Porter was active for Dallas' road game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. And thanks to that, the Steelers officially earned the lesser of the two draft picks involved in the Porter trade.
In the deal, the Cowboys sent a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Steelers, as well as a 2028 second-round pick, in exchange for Porter. However, the 2027 draft pick was conditional. The condition? Porter had to dress for at least two regular-season games for the Cowboys.
This was officially accomplished on SNF in Week 6. Now the full trade compensation is in place... and we really don't care what Joey Porter Jr. does from here.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can finally move past Joey Porter Jr. drama
Porter has been as advertised for Dallas so far. On 48 coverage snaps, the talented cornerback has not allowed a single catch on four targets, according to Pro Football Focus. But that hasn't necessarily equated to results for the team.
In Porter's first game on his new team in Week 4, the Cowboys' defense surrendered 30 points in a narrow win. In Week 6 on Sunday Night Football, Porter was penalized twice on 36 defensive snaps in Dallas' 23-13 loss.
The Steelers could come to miss Porter when they play against good teams, but they don't at the moment.
Cornerback Jamel Dean is coming off a fantastic performance in his revenge game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6. Meanwhile, Jalen Ramsey had a lights-out showing, while rookie CB Daylen Everrette made his presence felt with a key interception in Week 6.
As a unit, the Steelers allowed just 3.8 yards per pass attempt and 2.5 net yards per pass against Jalon Daniels and the Buccaneers—and they didn't need Porter to accomplish that.
Now that general manager Omar Khan officially secured the pair of draft picks from the Porter trade, the Steelers can move past all of the drama. We can assume that if Porter suits up the rest of the way for Dallas, he's going to be a quality performer. But right now, the Steelers are probably just thankful to move past all of the drama, knowing their draft capital in the trade is now secure.
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