The Dallas Cowboys added a big-time player to their secondary on Wednesday. Dallas traded for CB Joey Porter Jr., sending a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick to Pittsburgh. New details revealed that the trade included one interesting condition on one of those draft picks.

ESPN's Todd Archer explained that the Porter trade includes one condition related specifically to the sixth-round pick.

“Per source, there is a condition on the 2027 6th rounder the Steelers would receive from the Cowboys in this trade. Porter needs to be on the gameday roster for two games for the pick to go through. Theoretically that could be met by next Thursday if he plays Sunday against the Texans and on the short week vs. Tampa Bay.”

It seems that the Cowboys wanted to give themselves a little protection with this condition.

Remember, the only reason Pittsburgh traded Porter is because of their ongoing contract dispute. The talented young cornerback wants a massive new contract and the Steelers were unwilling to give it to him. As a result, Porter did not play for the Steelers throughout the first three weeks of the season.

At this point, it appears that Dallas will not extend Porter right away and he will instead play out his rookie contract. That is purely an expectation and not something the Cowboys can firmly hold Porter to.

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So, in the event that Porter does decide to hold out again, the Cowboys could theoretically get their sixth-round pick back. It also protects Dallas if Porter were to suffer a season-ending injury before playing in two games.

None of these details mean that Porter will not play for the Cowboys. Quite the opposite seems to be true, as Porter could play his first game this Sunday.

It will be exciting to see if Porter is the final piece that takes Dallas' defense over the hump in 2026.

Cowboys at Texans kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 4 from NRG Stadium in Houston.