“Terrific Move!” - Rich Weighs In on the Cowboys Trading for Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr.

"Nothing more dangerous than an old man with money."

Jerry Jones said it after the Cowboys picked up their first win of the season against Washington, and nobody was quite sure what it meant. Now we know. Late Wednesday night, Dallas acquired cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from Pittsburgh for a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick.

Rich called it a steal, and then a terrific move.

The breadcrumbs were there. Jones had said that he and Stephen Jones were willing to spend draft capital to improve this team this year. On his weekly radio hit on 105.3 The Fan, Jones was asked specifically about Porter, who had been dealing with one of those back injuries that kept cropping up while he and the Steelers could not see eye to eye on a contract. Porter appeared on track to play in Cleveland, practiced, and then was suddenly declared out.

"Yes, there's conversations going on," Jones said on the radio. "Not specifically to the player you just mentioned." Rich's translation: "Trying to avoid tampering here, folks."

What makes the deal even stranger is the history. This is the third trade between Dallas and Pittsburgh in roughly a year and a half. The first, on May 7, 2025, sent George Pickens to Dallas along with that very 2027 sixth-round pick, which is now heading back to Pittsburgh. In August, the Cowboys took left tackle Broderick Jones off the Steelers' hands in a late training camp deal. Jones and Porter were Pittsburgh's first two picks in the 2023 draft. Both now belong to Dallas.

"You want to keep on sending us your problems, we'll acquire them," is how Rich summed up the Cowboys' approach.

Then there is the money. Rich brought up a point from ESPN's Ben Solak: instead of paying Micah Parsons $46.5 million per year, the Cowboys traded him for two first-round picks and Kenny Clark. They have since spent a first and two seconds on Quinnen Williams and Porter, who will cost a combined $65.3 million a year, assuming Porter gets an extension. Rich expects he will. "If they coughed up a second in 2028, they're not just going to let Joey Porter Jr. linger."

Not everyone in the studio was sold. The objection: Porter does not address the real problem, which is a run defense that has been pushed around. Dallas has allowed 165, 182 and 192 rushing yards in its three games. "We're getting beat up, man. We need some physicality," came the response. The final play in Rio, when the Cowboys tackled Zay Flowers right away on the chunk play Baltimore needed for a game-winning field goal, did not help the mood.

Rich's counter is about intent. Jones is 83, he wants one more for the case, and he is telling a 1-2 locker room that management believes in them and is going to keep adding. The trade deadline is still a month away. "Who knows if they're done," he said.

He also liked the human angle. "You got a young guy who's pissed," Rich said, and the team that drafted and developed him decided he was not worth what he was asking. Dallas has seen this movie before, with Pickens putting up 1,300 yards last year. "Hey Joey, talk to George how things are around here and what you can do with an opportunity with the star on the side of your helmet."

The real question, in Rich's view, is the defensive coordinator. Christian Parker is in his first year, and Wink Martindale said on a podcast that Parker is not up for the job, opening with "I don't mean to be the a-hole here," which Rich noted Martindale could say before every sentence. Parker now has talented young pieces, including rookie Caleb Downs, who stood up Derrick Henry in Rio.

With Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams in the middle, the job is getting everyone in their lanes with discipline and an understanding of the scheme. The 0-3 Texans are up next, possibly with Nico Collins back. Rich's verdict: "Kind of dig it." And the Steelers, already 2-1 without Porter, get to show what they do without him.