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FRISCO, TX — The Gambler is back and he's rolling dice like it's the early 1990s in the back room of a smoky pub. Once upon a time, it was said by owner and general manager Jerry Jones that the Dallas Cowboys were "all-in" in adding to the team, but time showed that to be a bluff (though he will argue it wasn't).
There is no splitting hairs about it in 2026, though, not after seeing the latest blockbuster trade that brings former second-round pick and First-team All-Big Ten cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to North Texas.
Jones and the Cowboys are making good on a declaration made in late July.
"I will lay it out there. It's not a threat. It's just that I will shoot. So, yeah, we're very capable, if we get the opportunity to improve it by doing it. My message simply is that I feel good enough about this thing to give up some of the future, if the opportunity comes up.
"... A top pick is expendable this year for me to add to somebody that meaningfully would help us now," he said, unequivocally. "And we would have the right kind of spot on our team for it. So I'm not just looking for a player. We're looking for somebody that can add to the mix here." - Jerry Jones
And, now, to the science of Joey Porter Jr. — a full breakdown of the ramifications of the move in Dallas and, yes, there's a good chance he plays against the Texans in Houston, even if it's on a pitch count (let's get that out of the way right now).
Shall we science?
M*A*S*H
Usually, the Cowboys would create cap room for the sole purpose of rolling it over the next season but, as I reported at the time, that was not the case when they restructured the deals on DaRon Bland, Kenny Clark and Jake Ferguson to free up millions in cap space before the regular season opener against the New York Giants.
At the time, it gave the Cowboys roughly $20 million in cap space, and they planned on spending some of it on a blockbuster move, or two (hint), if the right player and price came along. Less than thirty days later, the Joneses watched their team fall to 1-2 on the season and the injury bug took massive bites out of their defensive unit — especially in the secondary.
Defensive injuries in Dallas:
- Jalen Thompson (hamstring strain - IR)
- P.J. Locke (foot/torn plantar fascia - IR)
- Jonathan Bullard (calf strain - IR)
- Malik Hooker (fractured forearm)
- Cobie Durant (hamstring)
- Shavon Revel (knee/ankle)
- DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring strain)
- Marist Liufau (fractured arm - IR)** Devin Moore (groin - IR)*
* denotes a preseason injury
Time will tell when Revel can return after suffering injury in Rio, but even if he doesn't miss the upcoming matchup against the Houston Texans (my belief is he will not take the field), every single player on that list will have missed multiple games by the time Week 5 rolls around; and that's a short week heading into the battle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium on Thursday Night Football.
There had been multiple discussions with the Pittsburgh Steelers leading up to the deal, each club feeling each other out on price versus need, and the Cowboys needed to see how things would go for their secondary before pulling the trigger.
Having done so, Porter's fourth and final contract year is set to hit the Cowboys for roughly $5 million ($4.92 million), and that leaves Dallas' front office with around $16 million in remaining space to make additional moves, be it another trade and/or free agency signings.
A … Sign … Of the Times
Don't make me tap the sign: "The Cowboys Are Moving Different."
(Yes, I know the correct grammar is to use 'differently' in that syntax, but that's not the colloquialism, so just roll with it.)
In the span of only 17 months, not necessarily in this order, they traded for George Pickens, Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams, Broderick Jones, Rashan Gary, Dee Winters, traded up in the 2026 NFL Draft to acquire Caleb Downs and, now, for Joey Porter Jr. — four blockbuster veteran trades and one generational move in guaranteeing Downs would be in a Cowboys' jersey.
Effectively flipping the trade of Micah Parsons into what the defense has become in 2026, and potentially beyond, is a spectacular feat of smart business, as is the package sent to the Steelers for Porter Jr.
You see, the Cowboys gave up a flyer pick (2026 sixth-rounder) and an impact pick (2027 second-rounder), but if Porter Jr. is allowed to hit free agency and leave on what would inevitably be a market-setting deal, the Cowboys would get a third-round compensatory pick for the loss.
That could mean they've lost 30-40 draft spots to contend for a Super Bowl (or maybe win it, if this ALL comes together for them), a great deal, made even better by the fact that — regardless of anything — the Cowboys could package the third-round compensatory pick in a deal that puts them back into the second round of the 2028 NFL Draft, when the time comes.
Again, don't make me tap the sign. Also, f— those picks.
Fitted Cap
Is it a ... new era?
Go win now, as in right now, while the window is still open for Dak Prescott and an offense that is also headlined by George Pickens; and, speaking of signs or, rather, signings, let's talk about the impact of signing Porter Jr. on the outlook for Pickens in Dallas.
One thing has little to do with the other, to be honest.
As it stands, Pickens is under a franchise tag for 2026, and the Cowboys' front office (Jerry Jones, specifically) has hammered down on the fact the organization "can see Pickens being a Cowboy for a long time to come", and that sentiment hasn't changed whatsoever. The financial component, however, is a scientific matter that does, in some capacity, tie the future of the two former Steelers together.
If the Cowboys are truly learning from the front offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles (Rams), as they've claimed to, then sending away picks for top talent is only one part of the equation. The other is finessing the salary cap in a way that, in yesteryear, would mirror what the New Orleans Saints did in the Drew Brees era.
But, how?
Extending Prescott again, as early as 2027, would dump a whopping $34.9 million toward next year's salary cap. From there, if one were so inclined to do so, restructuring the CeeDee Lamb deal adds another $21.4 million to 2027 cap space. That is a total of more than $56 million in cap space freed up in only two moves, and then there's the looming decision on Terence Steele, a contract that is set to hit the Cowboys' cap for $15.3 million next year.
If they decide to extend Prescott, restructure Lamb and opt to move on from Steele, that $56 million in potential savings moves to more than $71 million … and that's not even accounting for the annual league salary cap increase that has been exponential in the post-COVID era.
For reference, the salary cap increased by $22 million in 2026, pushing the total cap ceiling to $301.2 million, a number that is projected to move north of $325 million.
Yeah, you can keep Pickens and Porter Jr., and without cutting off your nose to spite your face regarding other star players like Lamb, for example.
That said, don't forget about the third-round compensatory pick we talked about earlier.
The 'Port' In The Storm
Everything is playing a part in why the Cowboys have struggled in the secondary.
There's a first-year coordinator experiencing organic growing pains, the aforementioned growing list of injuries to key players, and the fact that while the Cowboys defensive line is getting a ton of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, they've only turned two of those pressures into sacks through 12 quarters of play — an unacceptable conversion rate by any unit of measure.
Coverage sacks are a thing too, though.
Porter is not a good cornerback, he's an elite one, but more so as a press-man defender, and that's where things get interesting. His addition to the Cowboys instantly upgrades the cornerbacks room, point blank, period; but, will Parker continue to design a zone-heavy defense, or will he begin fitting his scheme to the personnel he has in Dallas?
Now is the perfect time for Parker, a first-time coordinator, to morph his scheme — with 14 games remaining in the regular season of his inaugural voyage in North Texas … because as the saying goes, while you allegedly can't teach an old dog new tricks, a young dog can adapt quickly and learn them very easily.
"A player like [Joey Porter Jr.], he'll be matched up appropriately." - Christian Parker
At this level, it's about the Jimmy's and Joe's, not the X's and the O's, and Parker knows that very well, seeing as he was key in the development of players like three First-team All-Pro cornerbacks, namely, Patrick Surtain II, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
Merry-Go-Round, Heavy on the Merry?
The new-look CB room in Dallas, when all are healthy, is as follows:
- Joey Porter Jr.
- Caleb Downs (DB - Nickel/Safety)
- DaRon Bland
- Cobie Durant
- Shavon Revel
- Ameer Speed
- Devin Moore
- Caelen Carson
The next question becomes one regarding rep splits, because Parker and the Cowboys will undoubtedly field Porter Jr. and Caleb Downs as two of their starting cornerbacks, but things get interesting when trying to decide who gets the nod as the other boundary corner.
Logic dictates it will be Bland, the big-contract guy who is finally healthy again and trying to get back to First-team All-Pro form. That doesn't feel like it's written in concrete though, maybe wet concrete, sure, but Durant has also proven an ability to be a starter in Dallas, and he was an early training camp MVP who has also translated those Oxnard reps onto the field in the regular season.
And Revel can't be lost in the sauce here, seeing as the 2026 third-round pick has a chance to be a franchise cornerback if he continues to develop at the rate I saw in Oxnard a few months ago. Progress-stoppers are a real thing, so the balance must be struck to make sure the best possible talent is always on the field while also developing a guy like Revel to become the next big thing for the Cowboys.
Porter isn't a create-a-player though, which is to say he isn't perfect.
He leads the league in penalties over the last couple years — 36 penalties, including 14 defensive pass interferences — the most in the NFL since 2023.
Porter Jr. also has only three interceptions in his first three seasons, something Parker says the Cowboys will work hard to change going forward, but the first stage is noting he excels at breaking up passes and deleting a huge chunk of the field.
The next stage will be to take the ball away as well.
And those challenges are outweighed on the scale by the following jaw-dropping statistic, per NextGen Stats:
"Joey Porter Jr. has not allowed a touchdown on his last 1,467 regular season coverage snaps dating back to Week 8 of 2023, the longest streak of any cornerback in the Next Gen Stats era and more than twice the length of the next-longest active streak.
"Porter allowed a 53.0% completion percentage in coverage this season (10th-lowest) despite facing targets at an average depth of 9.8 air yards, the 2nd-shallowest among cornerbacks who allowed a completion percentage below 60% on 50+ targets."
Is that good? Seems good.
In all, this is a Grade A trade for a Cowboys team that could be on the verge of doing something special in an NFC East that is wide open for Dallas to take ownership of, and Porter's pedigree is above reproach, as far as having a dawg mentality. Anyone who ever followed his father, Joey Porter Sr., in a Steelers uniform, knows he ran/runs hot on the field.
Like father, like son, and that means the heat inside the Cowboys' secondary just got turned all the way up — not unlike the smoky back room in a pub.
