FRISCO, Texas -- Every game Dallas Cowboys Joey Porter Jr. misses in 2026 will come with scrutiny.
Dallas acquired him via trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers after the pending free agent felt "disrespected" in contract extension talks. Porter Jr. led the NFL in passer rating against as the primary defender in coverage in 2025, among 128 players with at least 60 pass attempts thrown their way per TruMedia, with a 49.1 passer rating allowed. Since becoming a Cowboy, Porter Jr. has played in four of a possible six games. He missed what would have been his AT&T Stadium debut in Week 5 on "Thursday Night Football" against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of a stomach bug. Porter Jr. (ankle) also didn't suit up in Week 9 at the Indianapolis Colts.
Porter Jr. made it clear that his current issue is health-related, not contract-related. There's nothing extra to it.
"That has no, I don't even know where that narrative comes from. I get it, it's the internet. I don't really pay attention to that. I don't really care for that," Porter Jr. said after practice on Thursday. "My goal is to win games and play football. That's what I want to do. If there's any chance I can get on the field, I'm going to get on the field and do what I do best."
So what is going on with his injury? The Cowboys' official injury report lists Porter Jr. as dealing with an ankle injury, but he claims his heel and entire foot are currently "jacked up." He said he tweaked it in his Dallas debut at the Houston Texans in Week 4, and his desire to keep playing on it for his new team made it worse. He feels his 70% still "looks good." That's why he kept playing on it, but trying to power through the injury only made it worse.
"It's all of the above. The whole foot is jacked up. I was playing on it for a while, and it kept getting worse to where I had to shut it down," Porter Jr. said. "I feel like all the guys are wanting me to get back. They know what I can do when I'm out there on the field. I bring a presence out there, a game-changing type of presence. I'm just trying to get back out there as fast as possible. ... I know exactly what is wrong with my foot, and we're doing everything we can to get back to normal."
So what does he need to do to get back out there?
"Just need to be able to run, to cut. I play a position where I have to guard the most athletic people on the field. So if I can't run, skip or jump, then I'm no use out there."
Porter Jr. didn't participate in practice on Wednesday or Thursday, instead just working off to the side with Cowboys director of rehab Britt Brown. Friday will be the big test of whether Porter Jr. will return in Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers (7-1), the NFC's top seed. It's eating at him that he can't be out there for his teammates. When Dallas pulled him out of the game in the second half of Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals, he slammed his helmet in frustration.
"It really just depends on tomorrow and how I feel moving around. If they see and trust how I'm moving around is good enough to play on Sunday. We're going to go from there with that. I did some running today, that was pretty good. I feel confident with that. First time in a little while," Porter Jr. said. ... "It got to the point to where it felt like I was a liability out there. I never want to be that for my team, especially if I feel like I can't go, and I can't keep up with guys that I should be keeping up with, then what am I doing out there on the field? I'm just hurting the team. It was definitely a hard conversation to have with them because I'm a competitive person. I always want to be out there and do good, so when I can't be out there, it's frustrating."
Some may maintain their doubts that Porter Jr. will delay in order to maintain his reputation ahead of free agency. Among 289 players with at least 10 passes thrown their way, Porter Jr. leads the league in completion percentage allowed (25%) and pass yards per attempt allowed (1.6) while ranking 12th in passer rating against as the primary defender in coverage.
"I just always have the most confidence in myself to feel like I can do what I can do against anybody, 70% or not," Porter Jr. said. "That's why I was out there with the 70% [health]. It was just getting worse. I really don't care too much about the stats. I feel like my tape is going to speak for itself. It is what it is with that ... Still trying to keep the main thing the main thing and get back out there as fast as possible."
