Word on the streets of Pittsburgh was then-Steelers standout cornerback Joey Porter Jr. wanted to be paid like one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL. His contract demands led to his absence on the field and his eventual exodus in a trade to the Dallas Cowboys earlier this season. With expectations of a new top-of-the-market deal still on his mind, it paints an uncertain future for him and the Cowboys beyond the current season.

In his limited action in Dallas, Porter has been as good as advertised. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound human pterodactyl is a master of the boundary. In many ways, he’s been the only competent cornerback on the Cowboys even if he has been hampered by injury and illness throughout his brief Dallas tenure.

Given the salary and struggles of DaRon Bland, it’s hard to see Bland returning to the Cowboys in 2027. The former All-Pro has not regained his pre-injury abilities and has been a liability everywhere on the field. Someone like Porter makes his dispatch easy to digest since Porter already serves as the clear and obvious CB1.

Cornerback is already such a need on the Cowboys it headlines a list of positions most likely to be picked by them in the first round of the 2027 NFL draft. If Porter is somehow allowed to leave in 2027, Dallas’ need at the position goes from “major” to “dire,” instantly. Keeping Porter is important.

Complicating matters is the George Pickens situation lingering in the background.

Like Porter, Pickens is also a free agent looking for a new deal over the coming offseason. Many insiders have speculated the Cowboys would rather re-sign Porter long-term than Pickens, but at the same time, Dallas doesn’t want to lose Pickens for nothing so tagging and trading him next spring would be an ideal way to cash in on their asset.

With only one franchise tag available to use, the Cowboys will have to pick between Porter and Pickens. Preemptively signing Porter to a multiyear deal gets ahead of that issue. Porter probably wouldn’t respond well to the tag anyway. He demanded his way out of Pittsburgh when the Steelers refused to negotiate, so the same should be expected in Dallas if they refused to offer a satisfactory long-term deal.  

Signing Porter now would likely require a top-five cornerback salary but it’s a number that’s only going up next spring as new cornerbacks enter free agency. It frees the Cowboys to tag and trade Pickens and that could very realistically result in manifesting a first-round pick.

Between Trevon Diggs and Bland, the Cowboys haven’t had very good luck re-signing CB1s over recent years, but they can’t allow the scars of yesterday to impact their actions today. Porter is worth massive reinvestment, and the positional need is significant so there's no reason to let it linger.