Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. linked with NFC East team other than the Cowboys

Throughout September, numerous stories linked unsettled Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. with the Dallas Cowboys and with other clubs in need of defensive help. 

It sounds like a New York Giants team that made a splash by acquiring quarterback J.J. McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings is also monitoring the Porter-Steelers situation. 

Whispers linking Giants with Joey Porter Jr. getting "louder?"

"Are Giants pushing for CB Joey Porter Jr. from Steelers? The whispers in back channels have gotten louder in DMs and texts since Sunday," Giants reporter Art Stapleton of the USA Today Network revealed on Tuesday. "If it happens, I won’t be surprised. Still not sure it does or what the cost would be." 

Porter may make his 2026 season debut in Pittsburgh's game against the rival Cleveland Browns on Thursday night after he sat through the campaign's first three weeks amid his desire for a contract extension. Porter's existing deal expires after the ongoing season, and the Steelers traditionally don't negotiate with any player during a campaign. 

As for what it could cost a team to land Porter, Pittsburgh may want a first-round draft pick attached to any package for the 26-year-old. 

John Harbaugh willing to add to Giants roster

"The league has been trying to connect [the] Giants to Joey Porter Jr. for weeks, and I’ve heard nothing concrete on that front in that span - until late Sunday," Stapleton continued. "I brushed it off, but then [Monday] post-JJ trade, the speculation picked up again in league circles."

Stapleton added that head coach John Harbaugh, the Giants' true head of football operations, "has not been shy about the willingness to make bold moves." While the Giants likely won't go on a deep playoff run after starting quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered a knee injury in Week 2 that will keep him out of action through at least the rest of the regular season, acquiring Porter and locking him down via a multiyear deal would be a move for both now and for the future beyond the 2026 campaign. 

That said, it's unclear whether the Giants would give up another draft asset after they sent the Vikings a 2027 fifth-round pick for McCarthy.