A Case For Commamders Trade For Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr.

In Sunday’s 24-22 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles, the Washington Commanders' biggest hole on the roster was exposed: cornerback. Even with the eventual return of promising second-year cornerback Trey Amos, the team is most likely to solve this internally, but Washington must address it if they wants to compete in a division with the likes of Devonta Smith, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Malik Nabers.

That is where acquiring an ascending player with NFL pedigree comes into play.

Joey Porter Jr. and the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a tenuous contract standoff, which has spilled over into the regular season, and as a result, he did not play in Pittsburgh’s 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Player Profile

Porter, 26, is arguably one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL that no one talks about due to his low interception numbers. In 2025, he earned an PFF overall grade of 67.6, ranked 36th out of 114 qualified cornerbacks, but his 74.1 coverage grade ranked 20th among all qualified players at his position.

However, the PFF grade doesn’t tell the whole story; he is even better. In 2025, Porter ranked third in forced incompletion rate and fourth in snaps per reception while allowing a completion percentage under 50% for the second time in three seasons, per Pro Football Reference. The cornerback has only allowed one touchdown in his entire career, which spans 1,467 regular season snaps.

Porter is an elite man-to-man corner who has learned how to play physical while cutting back on the penalties, with six accepted penalties in 2025, down from 17 in 2024.

Porter's fit with the Commanders

Porter will be a fit in Dan Quinn and Daronte Jones' defense because he is a tall, lanky corner who excels in press coverage while providing depth at the cornerback position, which currently has Mike Sainirstil, Rasual Douglas, and Amik Robertson as the top three cornerbacks, and the supposed best corner looked lost on several occasions on Sunday, giving up a 64-yard reception to Dontayvion Wicks and being juked out of his shoes by Wicks on a nine-yard touchdown catch.

Sainirstil's performance continued his downward spiral after a dismal 2025 season where he struggled on the outside and in the slot in coverage. He has become less playable, and the team can’t afford to let this continue in a critical season, with the defense already showing much improvement from 2025.

One caveat for Porter's fit in Washington, though, is his strength in man coverage and questions in zone, posing a question whether Washington is a great fit for a defense turning to zone under new coordinator Daronte Jones.

Nessesary Compensation For Porter

Porter, who was originally a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, taken behind the Commanders' 2023 first-round draft pick Emmanuel Forbes, who has since been waived and is now with the Los Angeles Rams, should command at least a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fourth-round pick that can be upgraded to a third-round pick. Porter is an excellent player, but surrendering a first-round pick would be too much for a player who did not even register a single All-Pro vote.

Worth It?

The Commanders found themselves entering the 2026 NFL Draft needing to upgrade the roster's depth while finding difference makers on defense. Though the cap space was available for general manager Adam Peters to dip into, the draft capital wasn't, which limited the front office's willingness to entertain early offseason trades. And with multiple contract extensions expected to materialize over the next two offseasons, like quarterback Jayden Daniels, Porter would be another on that list. Given how his situation has unfolded in Pittsburgh, Porter would likely be first in line should Washington make a trade. 

Conclusion

Washington should consider trading for Porter because a top-flight cornerback will make the Commanders a top-ten unit in the league that can keep you in any game, even if the offense goes through its struggles like it did on Sunday.