Joey Porter Jr.’s run with the Steelers is over.
Late Wednesday night, Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan sent the former Penn State cornerback to the Dallas Cowboys in a deal that includes a second-round pick, according to NFL insider Ari Meirov.
The move closes the book on a situation that had dragged through the offseason and into the start of the year. Porter had been a full participant in the Steelers’ first two practices this week before being limited on Wednesday and then ruled out for Thursday night’s road game against the Cleveland Browns. He never played in a game for Pittsburgh this season after waiting for a new contract that never arrived.
While Porter sat and watched, Cleveland’s Denzel Ward, Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon and New England’s Christian Gonzalez pushed the market higher at his position.
This is the third time in the past two years that Khan has made a deal with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. Pittsburgh previously sent wide receiver George Pickens and former first-round pick Broderick Jones to Dallas.
For the Steelers, the trade ends a distraction that had hovered around Porter for months. It also leaves one lingering question: whether the back injury that surfaced on and off will now clear up after he’s out of black and gold.
Porter’s Penn State résumé was already locked in before the NFL drama took over. In 2022, he was an All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection, and he put together a big opener against Purdue with 27 tackles, 11 pass breakups, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery. He also became the first Penn State defensive back in school history to be selected in the first round.
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