Another week of NFL action kicks off on Thursday night, with the Pittsburgh Steelers traveling to Cleveland to face the Browns. But while there is a game in a few hours, it’s the Dallas Cowboys who are dominating the headlines with a little help from their friends, or, more appropriately, recent trade buddies.
Dallas pulled off its third trade with the Steelers in the last 16 months, landing star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. late Wednesday night. Porter and the Steelers had been at a contract impasse, but he now joins his former teammates George Pickens and Broderick Jones in Big D.
Porter has been sidelined throughout training camp and the first three weeks of the regular season due to the contract situation, and an apparent back injury, which has lead many to question when he will be ready to make his Cowboys debut.
As it turns out, a little flight to Dallas could be what it takes to get Porter ready to make his debut in a matter of days. Despite being ruled out by the Steelers for Thursday Night Football prior to his trade, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports there “is a chance” Porter debuts for Dallas on Sunday afternoon.
ESPN NFL insider Dan Graciano mocked the “miraculous recovery,” while several other NFL reporters and beat writers were ready to pile on. Porter’s quick turnaround would be reminiscent of Micah Parson’s sudden recovery from his back injury after being traded from Dallas to Green Bay last season.
Brooke Pryor, who covers the Steelers for ESPN, joked: “Maybe [Joey Porter Jr.] used one of those shiatsu massage pads on the flight to Dallas. Works for my back every time.”
FanSided editor and Still Curtain podcaster Tommy Jaggi added, “Funny how fast that back injury can just magically disappear.” Everyone was thinking the same thing. But the fans, who are more emotionally invested in the move, have already completely turned on Porter for the way he handled his exit. Not only could he suit up for Dallas in a few days, but he will do so without receiving a new contract.
“If he plays for Dallas without receiving a new contract after pulling all the shenanigans to the Steelers, that’s a middle finger to the team,” a fan wrote on X in response to Schefter’s update. “That’d be bullsh**.”
Regardless of what went down in Pittsburgh, Porter’s arrival in Dallas is more than welcome. The Cowboys’ secondary has been ravaged by injuries, and the pass defense has been brutal.
In Porter, the Cowboys get one of the few cornerbacks in the NFL with true lockdown potential. So, the quicker he can get on the field and begin working with Christian Parker, the better.
And, for what it’s worth, Porter returned to the practice field this week in Pittsburgh and was a ful participant on Monday and Tuesday, before “the Steelers said he couldn’t finish practice because of a back injury” on Wednesday, just hours before the trade.
Porter wil arrive at The Star on Thursday morning and undergo a physical, so we’ll learn just how good his back is looking in a matter of hours.
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