George Pickens helped baptize Joey Porter Jr. into the NFL brotherhood in a trial by fire. He’s ready to face him for the first time as an opponent, though he’ll have to wait. The Steelers traded Pickens to the Cowboys last year, but the two teams don’t play this season. In fact, they’re not guaranteed to play again until 2028, and who knows where they’ll be by then.
Nevertheless, whenever Porter gets to play Pickens in a game, he is ready. And he isn’t looking to be made a poster of as Pickens did to him during his rookie training camp. Recently appearing on The Blueprint podcast, he discussed how those matchups molded him.
“The battles I had with [George Pickens] and Diontae [Johnson], that really just shaped me for getting ready for the league”, Porter said. “Even that catch he had—I was hot. I was there after practice. I was on the field. Trapped him, put hands on him, everything was perfect. He just made a great-ass play, and that’s when I said, ‘Okay, some of these dudes is like that’”.
That catch made headlines and clearly left a lasting impression on Porter. It put him on SportsCenter, and not in the way you’d like. While the emphasis was on how great a play Pickens made, it’s like being the defender on a Michael Jordan poster.
And that was just the beginning of the battles Joey Porter and George Pickens had for two years. The trade a year ago put the kibosh on that, but now he has DK Metcalf, who presents a different challenge. And considering Porter had his best season in 2025, it seems he already got what he needed.
In terms of challenging Pickens on the field, though, Porter will have to wait. The Steelers played the NFC East teams in 2024, so won’t play them again until 2028. This year’s rotating additional NFC opponent is also from the NFC East. But the Steelers won their division and the Cowboys didn’t, so they won’t play. I don’t know if Joey Porter understood he won’t be playing George Pickens this year or not. But whenever they take the field again, he is ready.
“He knows what it is. We had good bump at practice, and they don’t post what I be doing. But Imma see him soon when we play Dallas, so it’s gonna be fun. For surely, it’s gonna be fun. I’m on that”, he said. “I’m not having that”, Porter added about a repeat of Pickens’ viral catch against him. “Definitely not that”.
Neither Porter nor Pickens is under contract for the 2027 season with their current teams. In fact, Pickens isn’t even under contract for the 2026 season. The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on him, but he has yet to sign it. As for Porter, he is entering a contract year. The Steelers surely intend to sign him to an extension, but both parties must reach an agreement.
If Porter and Pickens are still on their respective teams the next time the Steelers play the Cowboys, it certainly will be an exciting matchup to watch. It was appointment viewing for two years’ worth of training camps in Latrobe in 2023 and 2024. And you know, should we ever see it on Sunday, it will be a highlight of that game. Joey Porter certainly intends to make it so. As Mike Tomlin always told his players, “It’s a five-star matchup because we’re in it”.
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