{"id":452865,"date":"2026-10-01T05:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T05:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/452865\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T05:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T05:34:09","slug":"grading-the-trade-dallas-cowboys-get-joey-porter-jr-and-latest-intel-makes-it-better-than-initially-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/452865\/","title":{"rendered":"Grading the Trade: Dallas Cowboys get Joey Porter Jr. and latest intel makes it better than initially thought"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\tHome<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNFL<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDallas Cowboys<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys pulled off a huge trade for Joey Porter Jr. and the details change everything about how it will be perceived. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Oct
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOct 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (24) gestures against the New York Jets during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCharles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys did it. They\u2019re trading for Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., according to The Ringer\u2019s NFL insider Tom Pelissero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a huge trade as the star cornerback heads to a secondary in urgent and desperate need of help. Porter Jr. was in the middle of a contract dispute with the Steelers and has yet to debut in 2026 due to a \u201cback injury.\u201d Cowboys fans know about those when contracts are involved (wink, wink). <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive into what you should know about the trade and player, as well as why it\u2019s a very smart move by Dallas. <\/p>\n

Cowboys gave up 2028 capital <\/p>\n

I was very much ready to call this trade irresponsible. But the compensation changes everything. I planned to use that word because let\u2019s face it. One move isn\u2019t enough to fix the Cowboys\u2019 defense and this is going to be a costly deal (though Calvin Watkins from DMN reported Porter Jr. has yet to ask for an extension). <\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what the Cowboys are giving up: A 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick, via Watkins.<\/a><\/p>\n

That means the Cowboys are not banking their future on Porter Jr. and getting rid of all their 2027 picks. In fact, they\u2019re comfortably sitting with a first and a second for 2027. So no mortgaging the 2027 NFL Draft and apparently not an extension? That\u2019s a major win to land someone like Porter Jr. <\/p>\n

Will it fix the defense? Not entirely. But the Cowboys know this is a true win-now window for them. Who knows how long they can keep George Pickens in Dallas and Dak Prescott is playing some of his best football ever. They\u2019ve invested three first-round picks into the offensive line. <\/p>\n

They have a truly special offense. I\u2019m not going to complain about them being aggressive about capitalizing on it. Also, a second round pick and a sixth shouldn\u2019t deviate the future of your franchise as long as you\u2019re willing to spend on free agency. <\/p>\n

Now, here\u2019s the part that I love about this trade. The Cowboys could have used an edge rusher or a linebacker, too. Sure. But NFL teams are not in selling mode in Week 4. Porter Jr. is available now. <\/p>\n

Trading for Porter Jr. is the single biggest move the Cowboys can make today. So they are. I\u2019ve got to respect that. <\/p>\n

Grading the trade<\/p>\n

As for the player, we\u2019re talking about one of the best in the business. He\u2019s elite in man coverage, although a bit grabby at times. In 2025, he allowed a 55.9 passer rating, the third lowest in the NFL, per PFF<\/a>. He gave up a Top 10 reception rate of 47.8%. <\/p>\n

Questions exist about how he fits Parker\u2019s scheme but I wouldn\u2019t worry to much about it. Last year, Parker coached an Eagles secondary that led the NFL in man coverage rate. He should be able to adapt. <\/p>\n

The cherry on top is this: The second-round pick the Cowboys are giving up is for the 2028 NFL Draft. That changes everything, as it leaves Dallas with plenty to work with in 2027. <\/p>\n

I was ready to grade this much lower but the details on compensation and Porter Jr. reportedly not asking for an extension changes the entire picture. <\/p>\n

GRADE: A-<\/p>\n

\"Play<\/a><\/p>\n

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Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Joneses were unhappy with Cowboys\u2019 approach in Rio loss, and they have input for HC Brian Schottenheimer\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys execs openly admitted they had feedback for Brian Schottenheimer and his coaching staff following the loss to the Baltimore Ravens. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home \/ NFL \/ Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys pulled off a huge trade for Joey Porter Jr.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,113,104,103,155656,155657],"class_list":["post-452865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-grading-the-trade","tag-joey-porter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}