Dallas Cowboys cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was downgraded to questionable on the team’s injury report for Week 6’s matchup with the Green Bay Packers after being a limited participant in Friday’s practice due to an ankle injury.
Porter’s status was a surprise since he was a full participant in Thursday’s session and expected to play on Sunday. After missing the Cowboys’ Week 5 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after becoming ill on gameday, Porter has only appeared in one game with Dallas since being traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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That has raised suspicions among the skeptical — especially Steelers fans — that Porter might be essentially holding out until he gets a new contract, as he appeared to do with Pittsburgh when he was sidelined during training camp and the preseason, in addition to the first three games of the regular season.
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Stephen Jones told us this hour on @1053thefan they are assured Joey Porter Junior is excited to play for the Cowboys and then moments later the practice report is out and I’m just not sure what to think. pic.twitter.com/URHyLcnOv4
— Gavin Dawson (@gavindawson) October 16, 2026
“You need to be on an NFL team’s active, inactive, Injured Reserve (IR), or Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list for 6 games to obtain an accrued season in the NFL,” Steelers fan @yinzer_g posted on X.
“This is why he has faked a back injury, an illness and now an ankle injury,” the post continued. “After this week, he will have fully accrued enough time this season to be an unrestricted [free agent] at the end of the year. He can just go home for the rest of the season and not have to keep doing this charade anymore.”
After being traded to the Cowboys, Porter said he was “feeling better” and was available to play in Week 4 versus the Houston Texans. In his Dallas debut, he played nearly half of the team’s defensive snaps (25 of 52), according to Cowboys Wire. That could be attributed to playing for a new team and new scheme, along with regaining his conditioning in his first game of the season.
Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones was asked on @1053thefan if they have any concerns about Joey Porter Jr. potentially holding out like in Pittsburgh and if they have assurance that he’s good to go for the rest of the year:
⁰“Oh, absolutely. I think he’s all in. He wants to be out…— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 16, 2026
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones was asked by Dallas’ 105.3 The Fan if the team was concerned that Porter might be staying off the field until he gets a new deal.
“I think he’s all in. He wants to be out there,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “He was sick, he couldn’t play last week with the flu. But he obviously played in our first game and I think he’s fired up about what he can do to help us win against the Packers.”
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However, as 105.3 The Fan’s Gavin Dawson pointed out, Jones’ comments came before the Cowboys’ final injury report for the week was released.
Porter can make such talk go away by playing against the Packers on Sunday. However, if he sits out, the grumblings and doubts will surely get louder. That will add another storyline to the 2-3 Cowboys’ season and a struggling defense that ranks 30th in the NFL in total yards allowed.