The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ split with Joey Porter Jr. didn’t leave their former cornerback sulking when the call finally came.
Porter revealed on Michael Irvin’s “The White House” podcast that he was sitting in a movie theater late at night when Steelers general manager Omar Khan called to tell him he was being traded to the Dallas Cowboys.
The timing caught him off guard. His reaction did not.
“I was actually at the movies. I was at the movies when I got the call. It was late at night, like 11:30,” Porter said. “My GM, the Steelers GM called me and told me the exactly play and what was going to happen following. And man, there was a smile on my face. It was a bittersweet moment. But I was just so excited to be a Dallas Cowboy.”
That smile says plenty about how ready Porter was for a fresh start after months of uncertainty in Pittsburgh.
Joey Porter Jr. Explains Why Steelers Relationship Broke Down
The Steelers sent Porter to Dallas for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick after the two sides failed to agree on a contract extension.
Porter had entered the final year of his rookie deal seeking a new contract. He missed Pittsburgh’s first three games while dealing with a back injury and conditioning concerns, but he insisted before the trade that he had never requested to be moved.
When Irvin asked why things ultimately didn’t work with the Steelers, Porter pointed directly to the disagreement over his worth.
“I really just think it was a common ground… we just didn’t come to a mutual understanding of the value that I had of myself and the value that they had it me. It just didn’t work. It sucked that it went that way.”
That answer tracks with what Porter said immediately after arriving in Dallas.
Porter told DallasCowboys.com’s Nick Eatman that he felt “disrespected” and “undervalued” in Pittsburgh, while saying the Cowboys had already made him feel valued simply by trading for him.
He also made clear that he was willing to play out the final year of his rookie deal in Dallas without an immediate extension, calling the decision a chance to “bet on myself.”
Porter Gets Immediate Fresh Start With Cowboys
Porter didn’t have to wait long to get back on the field.
Just four days after the trade, he made his Cowboys debut in a 34-30 win over the Houston Texans. Porter played 24 defensive snaps and did not allow a reception. C.J. Stroud targeted him only once in 19 coverage snaps, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, via DallasCowboys.com’s Kurt Daniels.
That was Porter’s first game since Pittsburgh’s playoff loss to Houston following the 2025 season.
His departure closed an unusual chapter with the Steelers. Porter was the No. 32 overall pick in 2023, started 41 games over three seasons and recorded 165 tackles, 31 passes defensed and three interceptions.
His Pittsburgh ties also ran much deeper than most players’. His father, Joey Porter Sr., won a Super Bowl with the Steelers and later served on the team’s coaching staff.
That history helped make the trade surprising. Porter’s latest comments make it clear why the split still happened.
Joey Porter Jr. Reveals Late-Night Moment Steelers Traded Him to Cowboys