Exclusive: Cowboys Have Not Offered Joey Porter Jr a New Deal - Newsweek

On Wednesday night, the Dallas Cowboys made a move that would at least temporarily boost their injury-decimated secondary when they traded with the Pittsburgh Steelers for cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

The Cowboys sent Pittsburgh a conditional 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick in exchange for Porter, who had been seeking a contract extension with the Steelers since the offseason. Per ESPN, Porter must be on the gameday roster for two contests this season for the 2027 pick to go through.

It might be seen as a risk for the Cowboys to give up a second-round pick without having a contract in place for Porter. A source with knowledge of the situation told Newsweek that Dallas made the move for Porter in a bid to win this season. Owner Jerry Jones has ambitions to win the Super Bowl with this team, and the secondary needed an immediate fix amid a 1-2 start.

The Cowboys are not concerned about signing Porter to a new deal at this point in the season and have not offered the 2023 second-round pick a contract extension.

"The Cowboys have no interest in doing a deal until (Porter gets) on the field (to) see how good he is," the source said.

The Cowboys would be fine if they only had Porter as a one-year loaner for the remainder of this season, and Dallas is not believed to be planning to use the franchise tag on Porter or receiver George Pickens in 2027. However, that could change depending on how the two athletes play through the entirety of this season.

Per Pro Football Talk, if Dallas were to let Porter walk into free agency in 2027, the Cowboys would be set to receive a compensatory third-round pick in 2028 (closer to the start of the fourth round than the start of the third).

In a worst-case scenario where Porter does not agree to a new deal with Dallas, the Cowboys view the trade as giving up a second-round pick for a compensatory third while gaining one of the top coverage cornerbacks in the league this fall.

The Cowboys will enter the 2027 offseason with plenty of decisions to make about their roster. Dallas will have 20 players set to enter unrestricted free agency; six of those, including Porter and Pickens, are represented by David Mulugheta of Athletes First.

Dallas is in a better position to agree to a new deal with Porter than Pittsburgh. Per multiple reports, the heart of the dispute between Porter and the Steelers had to do with the guarantees in the deal. The Cowboys are more cash-rich than Pittsburgh and give more money guaranteed, more cash, and more signing bonus.

Another key factor that can help Porter is that the Cowboys, unlike the Steelers, have no state income taxes. Dallas can offer a higher signing bonus, which is not subject to state taxes. That will benefit Porter through the rest of this season as his game checks in Dallas won't be dinged for state taxes.

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