Dallas Cowboys' Updated Salary Cap Space After Joey Porter Jr. Trade With Steelers

With the Dallas Cowboys having completed the trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers for Joey Porter Jr., they will of course now have less cap space to work with. That said, Dallas is still in phenomenal shape.

With the acquisition of Porter Jr., the Cowboys are adding $4.92 million to their books in 2026, according to Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com.

With that number added, the Cowboys have about $16 million in cap space to work with moving forward, which leaves the team with ample space to make another significant addition.

And there is no chance for that number to go up this year via an extension, as the Cowboys plan to have Porter play out the year before deciding what to do in 2027, when he'll be a free agent.

According to Ed Werder, Porter is on board with this because of his desire to play in Dallas.

"A source confirms that — like his teammate George Pickens — newly-acquired cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is fine with playing in Dallas without a contract extension," Werder said. "He’s willing to play it out because the Cowboys are the team he most wanted to play for in leaving the Steelers."

That will no doubt stick in the craw of the Steelers, as Porter was seemingly holding out for a new contract in Pittsburgh. Granted, he was listed with a back injury during the offseason and into the regular season, but that back issue cleared up very quickly once the trade went down.

We know that because Porter was taking part in practice on Thursday, and there is reportedly a chance he plays against Houston this week, which would be his 2026 debut.

Can Cowboys afford to keep Porter?

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reacts during the 2026 NFL Rio Game against the Baltimore Ravens at Maracana Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's still way too early to look ahead to 2027, but let's do that anyway, shall we?

On the surface, it seems like the Cowboys have a rough financial situation next season, with Over The Cap projecting the Cowboys to be $1.9 over the threshold in 2027.

However, as Walker notes, the Cowboys can open up as much as $71 million in cap room next year if they extend Dak Prescott, restrcuture CeeDee Lamb and cut ties with Terence Steele.

That leaves plenty of space to not only extend Porter, but George Pickens as well, if the Cowboys so choose. Dallas can also afford to tag one of those two with that much cap space.

However, it remains to be seen if either player would be amenable to a tag. If not, the Cowboys could have a holdout situation, and drama would ensue from there.

Of course, if both players get extensions, things could get tricky down the road depending on how those contracts are structured, but the Cowboys are clearly living in the moment and will cross that bridge when they get to it.

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