Allen Park — It had been reported in recent weeks that the Detroit Lions checked in with the Pittsburgh Steelers about cornerback Joey Porter Jr., but details were light and sourcing murky.
Did the info come from Porter’s agent or one of the two teams? Was an offer ever made by the Lions? Would the team even have been able to meet Porter’s extension demands with so many top-of-the-market contracts already on the books? And how big of a bridge was required to get over football character concerns for a player willing to miss regular season games to get what he wanted for the Steelers?
We might never know the answer to most or all of those questions, and it doesn’t matter, because the Dallas Cowboys ponied up what the Steelers were looking for in exchange for the big, physical, talented defender.
Late Wednesday morning the sides agreed on a swap that sends Porter to Dallas in exchange for a late-round pick this year and a second-round selection in 2028. The compensation is in line with expectations and allowed the Cowboys from giving up an early-round choice this year, in what’s expected to be a talent-rich draft class.
Presumably, Porter will get an extension from the Cowboys in the coming days. It’s inconceivable to think he was disgruntled by not having long-term security in his previous situation and those sentiments would evaporate while filling out a change-of-address form at the local post office.
The new money, which could near $30 million per season, was easily the biggest hurdle for Detroit to overcome. After awarding extensions to Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill, with Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch on deck, the team is already facing cap struggles the next few years, which will only be worsened if they pay the steep hits to make Kerby Joseph go away next spring.
Could Porter have immediately improved the Lions? That’s a no-brainer. With his unusual length, he’s been stellar in man-to-man coverage. And he’s arguably even better in zone, which has been Detroit’s schematic preference to begin the 2026 season.
Meanwhile, cornerback has been an area of concern for Detroit, even before they were compelled to part with 2024 first-round pick Terrion Arnold. DJ Reed is solid, but has been inconsistent when tasked with matching up with opponents’ top receivers to open the campaign.
On the other side, the Lions recently benched Rock Ya-Sin, the stopgap replacement for Arnold. Roger McCreary wasn’t much better in his first start, allowing six completions on six targets. However, there’s fresh optimism regarding Ennis Rakestraw, the former second-round pick who was excellent in his season debut, albeit in limited snaps.
For now, Detroit is going to continue to see what they have in Rakestraw, and hope that time will smooth out some of their coverage woes that have come with their schematic shift.
If not, or there’s an injury to that group, they have five weeks until the trade deadline. By then, the market figures to be more robust with options, none of which might be as exciting as Porter, but should all come with significantly lower price tags that better fit Detroit’s restrained budget.
Not shocked. And frankly, the Lions seem to not really have the stomach to go after winning like other franchises do. I was thinking about what this defense could have been when Brian Branch comes back, with Joey Porter. Wow. The Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl in years, but they go after it as much as they can. And always keep it interesting. Other teams such as Chicago and the LA Rams continue to load up as well.
When I heard the Lions declare that they were excited about Ennis Rakestraw showing up for a few plays the other day, I knew they were going to 'settle' on that. They've had him for three seasons and they're excited because he showed up one Sunday. This seems to be a disease among Detroit GMs. Good enough is good enough. Great is something that takes a different level of functioning. A different level of guts and urgency.
This is for an area of the team that has been killing them for years (think: Jeff Okudah, Terrion Arnold and earlier). They had a chance to get it right for a few years and passed on it. It will be their end this year.
I’m not down with JPP cause he isn’t, or wasn’t, that interested in tackling. For me if a corner isn’t that motivated as a tackler then he better be Revis in coverage. Folks are gonna hate it given the recent draft history but that’s a spot that begs to be filled in the draft. Giving the team 4-5 cost controlled years, as one would with a QB-DE. Particularly for a team already possessing high end contracts