Last night’s Buccaneers-Cowboys game was preceded by the unexpected news that cornerback Joey Porter Jr. would miss the contest due to a sudden illness. In light of a back injury that prompted him to decline to play for the Steelers until he was traded — and given that the back injury instantly disappeared once he was traded to the Cowboys — some connected the dots from the illness to the lack of a long-term deal.
As noted by Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing, Prime Video analyst Richard Sherman went there during Thursday night’s pregame show.
“I think maybe if they would have gave him a new contract, maybe he would have been a little healthier today,” Sherman said.
But there’s not much for Porter to gain by declining to play. He already got what he wanted from the Steelers — a trade out of Pittsburgh. If he continues to find phony excuses to not play, he won’t help his long-term interests.
At this point, his only play seems to be playing as well as he can in the hopes of getting a long-term deal, the franchise tag, or a ticket to the open market.
That said, it’s clear that the Cowboys are keeping their options open as to the possibility of tagging Porter, the same way they tagged receiver George Pickens after his first year with the team.
“We’re working under an existing contract with an extended contract,” Jones said last Friday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “Think about it. Think about it hard. Let’s get in here, and let’s make each other feel a little better about where we are. Not a little better; in these guys’ case, it’s a monster amount in their lives, a contract at this level.
“But by the same token, there’s two to tango here. There’s the team and I are being comparable with making that kind of commitment. What you’re seeing in both those cases is working through a reasonable way to advance the ball, advance the ball being, ‘Get up, be an outstanding player as well as having an outstanding contract.’ That’s what you’re seeing, and I’m satisfied that we were able to do this with George. A lot of credit goes to everybody involved, particularly [coach] Brian Schottenheimer. Brian was very helpful, and they have a great relationship.
“And so, that’s the way to work through this problem. This thing is not a perfect thing in our agreement, in our overall, if I dare say, labor agreement, and it gives a lot of leverage to both parties. So when you see it work out the way it is with George, you’ve got to say, ‘Look, that’s people working together.’”
The Cowboys haven’t worked out anything with Pickens. Instead, they persuaded him to play under the franchise tag for $27.298 million in 2026, even though the market is now north of $42 million.
Jones’s explanation suggests that the door is wide open to tag Porter, if a long-term deal can’t be negotiated. If Porter’s sudden illness was a ruse, it won’t be the only time he doesn’t play. He’ll keep finding plausible ways to refuse to play, with the goal of pressuring the Cowboys into giving him the contract he didn’t get from the Steelers.
And that he still hasn’t gotten from the Cowboys.
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