Dallas made a massive move on Thursday to bring in Joey Porter Jr., but the price tag has fans and executives screaming foul. To secure the cornerback for Week 4, Pittsburgh received a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick from the Cowboys. This feels like panic buying at its finest. The team is 1-2, their secondary is battered by injuries, and owner Jerry Jones decided to burn future assets to fix a current problem. It is a risky gamble that ignores the long-term health of the roster.
The League Says You Overpaid
While Dallas fans celebrate the upgrade, the rest of the NFL thinks the Cowboys got ripped off. According to Yahoo Sports, general managers around the league believe Dallas paid way too much for a player who is not viewed as a top-tier corner.
The history here is not great either. The Cowboys have a strong recent record of overpaying for young talent. They gave up a fourth-round pick for Trey Lance, another fourth for Jonathan Mingo, and a fifth for Joe Milton. Now they have added a second-rounder to that list. Jerry Jones and the front office argue they are in a “win-now mindset.” But paying a 2028 second-rounder for a player on his rookie deal who has not even played a snap this season looks like a mistake. The risk of him walking in free agency next winter is real.
Win-Now or Win-Later?
Jerry Jones insists the team is not finished making moves. During a Friday appearance on 105.3 The Fan, he told the radio audience, “It’s a belief in where we are, what we can do right now.” He also noted, “That does show that we have really viable, serious room financially to make a trade if we wanted to right now.” These words signal that the front office is willing to spend big to fix the defense immediately. They are ignoring the draft capital they just lost to chase a quick fix.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer echoed this sentiment, saying, “Jerry and I have talked from the very beginning: we are in a win-now mindset. That doesn’t change.” The pressure is on Porter to perform instantly. A back injury and a contract standoff have prevented him from playing this season. Yet, he passed his physical and practiced on Thursday. Porter is confident in his skills, stating, “I’m a lockdown player at the end of the day.” The Cowboys need him to be exactly that against the Houston Texans on Sunday.
The defense currently ranks 30th in total defense and has recorded zero interceptions through three games. The injuries to Cobie Durant and Shavon Revel Jr. left the team with no reliable depth. This trade was about survival, not smart asset management. If Porter becomes a star, the 2028 second-round pick will look like a bargain.
