Joey Porter Sr. spent eight seasons in Pittsburgh, made four Pro Bowls, and later returned as a coach. So when he took a shot at the Steelers after the Cowboys beat the Texans, it did not read like a stranger’s criticism.
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His son, Joey Porter Jr., was a second-round pick of the franchise in 2023 until Pittsburgh traded the cornerback to Dallas. His father, Porter Sr. made his feelings known about the Steel City, and the criticism went beyond the trade.
“I almost forgot what it’s like walking through hostile environments on game day,” Joey Porter Sr. said. “They tried to take me away from football for four weeks. I forgot what it feel like, man. I forgot how intense it gets. It feels like I’m back at home.”
Joey Porter Sr., the former Steelers outside linebacker, has finally spoken up about his son’s move to the Dallas Cowboys. Late Wednesday night, after a long and bitter contract fight, Pittsburgh sent Joey Porter Jr. to Dallas for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick.
Porter Jr. went into the last year of his rookie deal hoping for an extension, and he never took a snap for the Steelers this season. He sat out the first three games, and NFL.com reports that general manager Omar Khan had made it clear there would be no negotiations once the season started.
Over three seasons in Pittsburgh, Porter started 41 games, recording three interceptions and breaking up 31 passes. He has made his Cowboys debut in Week 4 against the Houston Texans on October 4, 2026.
His dad, Porter Sr. had his own reaction on Sunday. He posted a clip on Instagram of himself heading to the Cowboys game in his son’s No. 25 jersey. He sounded thrilled.
“Heading to the game. How bout them, Cowboys! We dem boyz!” Porter said in the video.
Seeing him in Cowboys gear and cheering for Dallas caught some Steelers fans off guard, since Porter Sr. is a franchise legend who went into the team’s Hall of Honor last December.
A day after Dallas pulled off the trade, Porter was asked whether he felt disrespected by the Steelers during the standoff.
“Definitely, definitely,” Porter said, per Pro Football Talk. “It was a hard process, a lot of ups and downs. Definitely felt disrespected, definitely felt undervalued.”
He added that the gap between the two teams came down to how much each one valued him.
As for the game itself, the Cowboys beat the Texans 34-30, and Porter had a solid first outing. It was also his first game of the year, after supposed back problems kept him out of Pittsburgh’s first three.
“That’s the thing,” Porter said. “I was missing playing football, so the fact that I got out there, got the dub with the guys, man, that’s a blessing. … They were happy for me.”
He played 24 of Dallas’s 52 defensive snaps, about 46.2 percent, and didn’t give up a catch. Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud mostly stayed away from him too, throwing his way just once across 19 snaps in coverage, according to Next Gen Stats.
The Cowboys’ defense as a whole had a rough start, though, allowing 397 yards.
Still, the unit tightened up when it counted and came up with the stops needed to close out the win. With a 34-30 win, Dallas looks like it’s heading in the right direction.