Steelers get C+ for Joey Porter Jr. trade as deadline nears and Bengals rematch looms
ESPN gives Pittsburgh a C+ for sending Joey Porter Jr. to Dallas. The 6-2 Steelers head to Cincinnati as underdogs with the Nov. 10 deadline close.
The Pittsburgh Steelers did their biggest trade of the season early, and it is getting a lukewarm review. In ESPN's running trade deadline grades, Pittsburgh gets a C+ for sending cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas gets a B.
The Steelers received a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick. As ESPN reported when the deal went through on Oct. 1, the sixth-rounder only conveys if Porter is on the Cowboys' gameday roster for two games this season. The trade ended a long contract standoff with the 2023 second-round pick, made worse by a back problem that kept him inactive for Pittsburgh's first three games.
ESPN analyst Ben Solak doesn't argue with moving Porter. His complaint is the timing. Porter wanted a contract near the top of the cornerback market, and Solak isn't convinced he deserved one. Still, he says that by letting the dispute run into the regular season, Pittsburgh lost leverage. In his view, the Steelers "could have -- and should have -- gotten at least a first-round pick" by trading Porter in the spring or early summer. He also questions general manager Omar Khan's choice to spend on older players like Jalen Ramsey and T.J. Watt instead of a younger player heading into his second contract. And he calls cornerback a weaker spot on the depth chart now that Jamel Dean, Asante Samuel Jr. and rookie Daylen Everette have to cover the outside.
The defense has answered some of that so far. Since the trade, Pittsburgh is 4-1. The only loss was 27-24 in Cleveland in the first game without Porter, and the Steelers have won four in a row since. Over those four wins they allowed 22, 19, 10 and 6 points, ending with a 27-6 home win over the Browns. The trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. ET, so Khan still has time to add a cornerback if he wants one.
What it means for Cincinnati
At 6-2, the Steelers visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Nov. 15, on NBC. They already beat Cincinnati once, 30-27 at home. Their other loss was a 20-3 game in New England, the only time all season they failed to score at least 16 points.
The rematch could test the cornerbacks Solak is worried about, but the board for the game leans the other way from the standings anyway. Cincinnati is favored across 10 venues. On the moneyline, the Bengals are -182 on Novig, and the best price anywhere is DraftKings at -180. Pittsburgh is +170 on Novig. The Bengals are favored by 3.5 points on the spread: Novig has Cincinnati -3.5 at -102 and Pittsburgh +3.5 at -100.
The total is 48.5 on Novig, with the over at -106 and the under at -100. BetRivers has the best over price at 48 points, -113. Sportsbook hold runs from 3.1% to 6.1% on the moneyline and from 2.9% to 4.8% on the spread, so the venues don't differ much.
A total near 49 suggests more scoring than Pittsburgh has allowed lately. The first game between these teams went for 57 points.