The Dallas Cowboys will have cornerback Joey Porter Jr. available for Sunday night’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, according to reporting from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
After rolling his ankle in practice earlier this week and landing on the injury report as questionable, Porter is expected to suit up and contribute against a Packers offense that has found more rhythm through the air in recent weeks.
Porter’s path to this moment has been uneven since Dallas acquired him from the Pittsburgh Steelers in early October.
He appeared in the Cowboys’ Week 4 victory over the Houston Texans shortly after the trade, but a sudden illness kept him out of the following game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That limited sample means Sunday represents only his second opportunity in a Dallas uniform.
Through his career, which spans 48 games mostly with Pittsburgh, he has recorded 165 tackles, 31 pass breakups, three interceptions, and one sack while allowing a 54 percent completion rate and a 71.2 passer rating when targeted.
Those numbers suggest the kind of reliable outside coverage the Cowboys have lacked.
Speculation that Porter might be managing the ankle issue because of dissatisfaction with his contract was quickly dismissed.
Executive vice president Stephen Jones publicly affirmed that Porter wants to be on the field, and sources close to the situation indicated the injury had nothing to do with his deal.
Porter himself has expressed confidence in taking on a larger role. With fellow corner Cobie Durant out with a hamstring injury and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown already ruled out after not traveling, the secondary’s depth is thin.
That depth matters because Dallas has surrendered at least 375 yards in each of its first five games, a stretch that ties for the eighth-longest such run in NFL history and stands as the longest in franchise history.
The unit ranks near the bottom of the league in total yards allowed per game. The Cowboys recently added former Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine as an assistant to help first-year coordinator Christian Parker stabilize the defense.
Getting Porter on the field for more snaps than he logged in Houston offers one concrete way to slow Green Bay’s receivers and give the rest of the secondary clearer assignments.
Whether Porter can immediately reclaim the form that made him a starting-caliber corner in Pittsburgh remains to be seen.
Still, his presence gives Dallas a better chance to disrupt Jordan Love’s timing in a prime-time setting where every coverage win matters.
