Overview
- The Cowboys acquired Porter in a late-September trade from the Steelers that reportedly cost a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 conditional sixth-round pick.
- Porter has appeared in one game for Dallas on a limited snap count and missed the Week 5 loss after being sent home with an illness he described as severe enough that he “kept throwing up.”
- NFL reporter Ed Werder and team sources say Porter rolled his ankle in practice this week and is listed as questionable for Week 6, with a source telling Werder the injury is unrelated to contract talks.
- Public skepticism has grown because Porter missed time in Pittsburgh with a back issue during stalled extension talks, though Cowboys executive Stephen Jones publicly defended Porter and the team has said it will not offer a new contract before the offseason.
- Porter’s uneven availability leaves Dallas short-handed in a struggling defense and increases the pressure on the front office to pursue other reinforcements before the trade deadline or to rely on internal depth while evaluating Porter later.