Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (24) observes training camp drills at Saint Vincent College.
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Dallas Cowboys had to go without Joey Porter Jr. on Thursday Night Football, but they also added a key offensive piece. However, Richard Sherman added intrigue to Joey Porter Jr.’s absence from the game, according to a post on X by Shan Shariff.
“Maybe if they were to give him a new contract, maybe he’d be a little healthier today,” Richard Sherman said on the TNF pregame show. “I’m speculating right now. They’re saying it’s legitimate. What I’m saying, everything developed really quickly. It’s unfortunate.”
Cowboys go without CB Joey Porter Jr. on TNF
Porter was ruled out less than two hours before kickoff of the game, according to ESPN. What makes the situation interesting in how Porter treated the Steelers before the trade to the Cowboys. He did not play, citing a back injury. After the trade, he immediately made his way to the football field.
The absence Thursday came shortly after Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer bragged about Porter’s enthusiasm to play, according to Heavy.com via Sporting News.
“What I loved about Joey was how excited he was to get out there,” Schottenheimer said. “He wanted to play in this game, even on the pitch count. He wanted to play. (And) he worked like crazy with Derrick Ansley and Christian Parker and those guys to get out there, but we weren't going to throw him into a situation where he didn't know some of the calls and defenses.
“So we were limited with what we could use, but we'll see the film. Incredibly talented young man that very, very fortunate to have.”
The contract talk will likely hang around Porter until he gets a new one. He is playing out the final year of his rookie contract. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took his typical nonchalant stance about having to pay Pickens and Porter, according to Heavy.com.
“We’ve got great agreements,” Jones said. “The agreements are in place so that I don’t even have to talk about a question like that. I’m not at all perturbed by the question, but we’ve got that put to bed in terms of their business one way or the other.”