FRISCO, Texas — Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. said Thursday that he felt disrespected and undervalued during contract talks with the Pittsburgh Steelers, one day after Pittsburgh traded him to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick.
Porter is in the final season of his rookie contract and spent the offseason and the first three weeks of the regular season seeking an extension. Pittsburgh had already locked up three members of his 2023 draft class, Darnell Washington, Nick Herbig, and Keeanu Benton, NFL.com reported.
The process had ups and downs, Porter said, and he considers it finished.
“Definitely, definitely. Like I said, it was a hard process, a lot of ups and downs,” Porter said. “Definitely felt disrespected, definitely felt undervalued. But that’s old news now. That’s how I look at it. I’m on to new beginnings, new chapters. And like I said, I’m a Cowboy. I’m in Dallas, so I’m happy about that.”
Joey Porter Jr. Willing To Play Without A New Contract
He arrives in Dallas without a new deal and is willing to play without one. Porter said the difference from Pittsburgh is how he has been treated in early conversations.
“Yeah, kind of, most likely that, just more of the value,” Porter explained. “I didn’t feel like it was really that over there, and I feel like they’re showing me that they value me over here so far with the talks that I had. So I feel like that’s all I need to really show them I can do what I do.”
“Better myself,” Porter said of his mindset without a contract. “I feel like that’s at the end of the day. You’ve got to always have that in yourself. Just choose you at the end of the day, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Joey Porter Jr. Wants To Finish His Career In Dallas
Dallas was on Porter’s list long before Wednesday. His agents had told him about several options, and he said they warned him not to get his hopes up about the Cowboys.
“I mean, they always had talks about options, about teams here and there,” Porter said. “Cowboys was always one of them, but they always told me don’t get my hopes too high because I always wanted to be in Dallas. But once the talk started really rolling and I got the call, it was up from there.”
He is not treating the season as a one-year audition.
“I mean, I’m down with it if they are,” Porter said. “I want to finish my career here. So hopefully I just perform like I know how to perform and do what I do, and I’m going to let everything take care of the rest.”
On the possibility of franchise-tag drama in Dallas, Porter said, “If it comes with it, I’m ready.”
His father, Joey Porter, was a four-time Pro Bowl linebacker and won Super Bowl XL with the Steelers. Porter said his father stayed out of the business side and focused on how his son was holding up.
“Mainly he was really just staying in my corner throughout the whole process,” Porter said. “He was really just checking on my mental and seeing where I was at, and that was his biggest concern. He really wasn’t focused too much on the business aspects; he was really focused on his son. At the end of the day he was in my corner, as well as my mom.”
Leaving the franchise his father played for was not difficult, Porter said. He had accepted earlier in the week that a move could come.
“No, not really. Like I said earlier in the week when I had a conversation with them, I already accepted everything that came with it,” Porter said. “I understood that it’s a business at the end of the day, so whatever was the best step for me moving forward, I was willing to take that step, and I’m glad I landed here.”
Through three seasons in Pittsburgh, Porter recorded three interceptions and 31 passes defended. The next step he wants in Dallas is more takeaways.
“Turnovers. I feel like that’s the next step for me,” Porter said. “I think I’ve shown that I could take wide receivers out the game. I just want my ball production to be up, and I’m gonna try for that.”
The Cowboys have not intercepted a pass through three games. Porter carries no injury designation for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, with kickoff at noon CT on Fox.
