Pittsburgh will receive two draft picks from Dallas, a sixth-rounder in 2027 and a second-rounder in 2028 in exchange for the 26-year-old.
Porter has been inactive all three games this season for the Steelers. The fourth-year pro has been dealing with a back issue and had also been in the middle of a stalemate with the Steelers over a new contract.
Porter, a second-round pick out of Penn State in the 2023 NFL Draft, was seeking an extension as he entered the final year of his four-year rookie deal.
It’s the second major trade between the Cowboys and Steelers in two years.
Before the 2025 season, Pittsburgh sent receiver George Pickens to Dallas for draft picks. He made the Pro Bowl in his Dallas debut, setting career highs with 93 catches for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
The Dallas Cowboys are acquiring cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is desperately trying to fix his team’s woeful defense
Pickens is playing this season on a $27.3 million franchise tag and has 16 catches for 150 yards without a score.
The Steelers took Pickens out of Georgia in the second round in 2022. While his talent was on display during three seasons with the Steelers, so were enough instances of petulant or indifferent behavior for then-coach Mike Tomlin to question his maturity.
Dallas and Pittsburgh also made a lower-profile trade during the preseason this year.
The Cowboys acquired offensive tackle Broderick Jones and a fourth-round pick in next year´s draft for third- and sixth-round choices.
Not only is Dallas suddenly seeking reinforcements in the secondary, but the defense as a whole is off to another rough start after being one of the NFL’s worst in 2025.
The Cowboys are second-to-last in rushing defense and one of four teams without an interception. Dallas had a franchise-worst six picks on defense last season.
In a 34-31 loss to Baltimore in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, the Cowboys let Lamar Jackson complete a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers when the Ravens had just seven seconds on the clock after a tying field goal by Dallas. Jackson got a timeout called with a second remaining, and Tyler Loop kicked a winning 56-yard field goal.
While the Cowboys had hopes of a quick turnaround with 34-year-old Christian Parker as a first-time defensive coordinator, the first three weeks have shown otherwise.
Porter has been dealing with a back issue and in a stalemate with the Steelers over a new deal
In a season-opening loss to the New York Giants, Dallas had just two possessions in the second half because the defense couldn’t get a stop.
Porter was among the top 20 in the NFL in pass breakups over his first three seasons with 31. He had two seasons of double-digit passes defended. Last season, DaRon Bland was the leader for Dallas with six as the Cowboys finished last in the league in passing defense.
The Cowboys are getting Porter after earlier Wednesday putting safety Jalen Thompson on injured reserve with a hamstring problem. They also signed three defensive backs to their practice squad.
Safety P.J. Locke was already on injured reserve. He and Thompson were offseason acquisitions by the Cowboys as a part of retooling the secondary.
