Joey Porter Jr. Blames 2-Week Absence on Ankle Injury, Rejects Contract Rumors

Q: Will the Cowboys risk using a franchise tag on Joey Porter Jr. despite his lingering foot injury?

Probably not unless Porter finishes the season healthy and playing at a high level. Dallas has the option to use the franchise tag on Joey Porter Jr., and team officials have made clear they believe he is committed and are interested in keeping him. Jerry Jones has signaled long-term interest, and Stephen Jones has said Porter has exceeded expectations when available. The Cowboys also gave up meaningful draft capital to acquire him, which increases the incentive to avoid losing him for nothing. But the foot issue matters. Porter has described “the whole foot” as “jacked up,” and he has already missed time with the ankle, heel and illness issues since arriving. A franchise tag for a cornerback would be expensive, so Dallas would likely want more proof of durability and impact before using its one tag on him. That is especially relevant because the Cowboys may have other pending free agents to manage and can tag only one player. So the tag remains a realistic fallback, not the most likely outcome today. If Porter gets healthy, returns to form and shows he can be a difference-maker over the rest of the season, Dallas could justify tagging him to prevent him from reaching the market. If the injury lingers or limits his effectiveness, the Cowboys would be more likely to avoid that risk and either pursue a shorter-term deal at their price or let him test free agency.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 13

Joey Porter Jr. said his recent absence for Dallas was injury-related, not tied to his pending free agency, calling the contract speculation internet "noise."
The 26-year-old cornerback has played only four games since Dallas acquired him from Pittsburgh for a second-round pick, after hurting his ankle in his Cowboys debut and aggravating it the next week.
Brian Schottenheimer said Porter is also dealing with heel discomfort, and Porter said "the whole foot's jacked up" after trying to play through it until he had to shut it down.
Porter was not a full participant in practice for a second straight day Thursday, though he did some resistance-band work and could do more Friday ahead of Sunday's game against San Francisco.
Dallas enters Week 10 second in the NFC East, one game behind the Giants, making Porter's return a key issue as the Cowboys try to keep pace.