Joey Porter Jr.’s ankle injury has put the Steelers in an awkward holding pattern, and not just because it could keep him out of Sunday night’s game against Green Bay. Pittsburgh is also waiting on the last piece of the trade return tied to Porter’s move to Dallas.
According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the Steelers’ haul from the deal includes a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder, with the sixth contingent on Porter being active for two Dallas games. The second-round pick is not tied to that condition, so Pittsburgh already has its most valuable asset locked in.
Porter has already appeared once for the Cowboys, against Houston. He missed the Tampa Bay game because of an illness, then showed up on Dallas’ practice reports as limited Wednesday and Friday after being full on Thursday. If he can’t go against Green Bay, the wait continues.
The conditional selection is the only pick in the package scheduled for next spring, which is why it matters so much to Omar Khan and the Steelers. If that sixth-rounder never transfers, Pittsburgh would need to make another move if it wants to turn any piece of the Porter compensation into a selection it can actually use in 2027.
It’s only a sixth-rounder, but that doesn’t make it meaningless. It could still turn into a depth piece, help on special teams, or become part of another trade. Pittsburgh has already shown why extra cornerback help matters, with Sean Murphy-Bunting and Terell Smith joining the roster after Porter’s departure and Jamel Dean’s ankle injury.
That context makes the conditional pick even more important. Khan already had to scramble for cornerback depth, and losing part of the return from the Porter deal would only deepen the cost of moving him.
The selection also traces back to Pittsburgh, since the Steelers sent it to Dallas in the George Pickens trade. Getting it back would restore a draft asset Khan had already spent.
The Steelers understood the risk when they agreed to the condition. They don’t control Dallas’ medical process or its game-day decisions, which leaves Pittsburgh waiting on something it can’t force itself.
Porter’s missed time doesn’t automatically mean he’s refusing to play. Dallas described the Tampa Bay absence as the result of repeated vomiting and sent him home. Stephen Jones also said Friday on 105.3 The Fan that he was confident in Porter’s commitment.
Still, every missed game matters for Porter’s standing around the league. Evaluators want more than occasional flashes in coverage. They need to see he can stay on the field and hold up over a longer stretch, and more absences could hurt that case even if the injuries are real.
The next checkpoint comes when Dallas releases its inactives around 7 p.m. ET Sunday.
Pittsburgh gets the pick once Porter is active for another game-day roster spot, no matter how many snaps he actually plays. If he sits again, the Steelers keep waiting.
The risk only becomes final if that second activation never comes.
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