FRISCO, Texas -- Late last night, the Dallas Cowboys completed a trade for CB Joey Porter Jr., giving the defense a new piece in the secondary.
From head coach Brian Schottenheimer to defensive coordinator Christian Parker and quarterback Dak Prescott, reactions were rolling in from the trade and how it will impact Dallas going forward.
Let's hear what some members of the organization had to say about Porter's acquisition:
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer
The Cowboys have not been shy about the fact that if a opportunity to add to their defense came across the table, and everything made sense, they would jump on the chance to improve the roster. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer feels his team has done that with Joey Porter Jr.
"I think it's credit to Jerry, Stephen, Will McClay, the aggressiveness to go out and add really great players," Schottenheimer said. "We played against him a couple years ago. I've known him since his time at Penn State in terms of watching his play. A guy of that length and that size, and we love the physicality that he brings both as a coverage piece, but also a guy that can fill runs and tackle and crack replace and things like that. It made a lot of sense."
Porter did individual work, and spent one-on-one time with Christian Parker, during Dallas media viewing portion of practice on Thursday. As the Steelers were getting ready to play on Thursday Night Football against the Browns this week, Porter was listed as a full participant on Monday and Tuesday, and was ruled out on Wednesday, something he said was more of his doing in communicating with the team. Now that he has a fresh start, and the Cowboys are banged up in the secondary, could Porter play on Sunday against Houston?
"He moved around good today," Schottenheimer said. "I'm not going to comment for sure. We'd like him to play, but we'll see how the week goes."
Cowboys DC Christian Parker
At previous stops in his career, Cowboys DC Christian Parker has had elite outside corners with players like Pat Surtain and Quinyon Mitchell. Now, in his first DC role, Parker gets Porter Jr., another tall, lengthy physical outside presence.
"He fits well," Parker said of Porter's fit in his scheme. "He's a high-level coverage player, plays with great length. He has a lot of experience against a lot of high-level receivers, so we have evidence about how he does in that environment. Really excited about having him here."
Specifically, Parker called him a "boundary eraser." How much can a "boundary eraser" do in his scheme?
"A lot," Parker said. "I think when you have guys who can erase things, one on one matchups on the backside, then you can do different things to manipulate coverage, you can add plus ones in different areas of the field, you can add plus ones in run defense. You don't want to put guys on an island the whole game, but you can definitely move some pieces around and make other things better."
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
Just as the Cowboys front office is eager to add talent to the roster when they can, Dallas' players like QB Dak Prescott are excited to see players like Porter come into the building and join the team.
"Excited," Prescott said. "When I heard the news, pumped up about it. Then just getting here this morning, seeing him already at practice ready to go, engaged. We've all welcomed him and excited to have him. Just as much as the front office making the trade, everybody in the locker room's pumped to have him. Know he's going to help he's gonna help this team and get right to it."
Porter said on Thursday that he remembers his second career interception, which came against Prescott in 2024 on a deep pass intended for Jalen Tolbert. Prescott remembers it too, and remembers the kind of player that Porter is.
"He's a good corner. He's a guy that can play physical, play man to man, take a receiver away, shut a side down. And now to have that on our side, play maker when the ball is in the air. I know he went and got one on me on a almost 50-50 ball that he almost didn't make it seem that way at all. When you've got a guy like that with ball skills and hunger for the ball, you want him on your team, so glad we have him."
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb is no stranger to what Porter can do on the field.
"I'm excited," Lamb said. "I played against him once in Pittsburgh. It was a good bump. Excited to see how he carries that over here and turn the defense around a little bit."
Lamb faced Porter in Week 5 of the 2024 season, where he caught five passes for 62 yards in that game. Porter recorded four total tackles and an interception. They may not match up together much in practice during the season, but still have the iron sharpens iron mentality.
"We don't really do much good on good, but when we do, I know it's going to be fun," Lamb said. "I'm going to get him right and vice versa. Real tall, lengthy corner. Real good at his technique. He stays patient in his backpedal. So I'm excited, I'm excited, it's going to be fun."
Cowboys OC Klayton Adams
Cowboys OC Klayton Adams said he found out about the Porter news from his 16-year-old daughter while he was working on the offense's third down gameplan for the Texans.
Adams has been around for multiple notable trades with Dallas: George Pickens, Micah Parsons, Quinnen Williams, and now Porter.
"I think it's awesome," Adams said of the high number of notable moves Dallas has made during his tenure. "I think it's the organization trying to support our team, trying to do everything they can to help us get better and give us the best chance we can to be great here as we go into the kind of second chapter of the season."
