Steelers Poach Veteran Super Bowl-Winning CB From NFC South Team

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys last week, ending their saga with a cornerback that wanted a pay boost this fall. 

The Steelers added a veteran cornerback on Monday to help boost depth at the position before Week 5.

The Steelers suggested before the season that they were all-in on winning in quarterback Aaron Rodgers' final season in the league, but the team decided that wouldn't include paying for one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL. 

Following Pittsburgh's 27-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the secondary had immediate depth concerns at cornerback, with Jamel Dean expected to be out for a couple of weeks as he deals with an ankle injury.

Per Tom Pelissero of Netflix, Pittsburgh is poaching cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad. Through 82 games, he's made 65 starts with 297 tackles, 11 interceptions, and 34 passes defensed.

Bunting, 29, last played a regular-season game for the Arizona Cardinals in 2024. The 2019 second-round pick by the Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV with Tampa Bay. He spent the 2025 season with the Cardinals on the reserve/non-football injury list. He signed with the Buccaneers practice squad on Sept. 2. 

The Steelers will travel to play Tampa Bay on Oct. 18. 

The signing isn't the most exciting for the Steelers after losing Porter, who had a solid debut with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. He played in 24 snaps on defense and was targeted just one time, giving up zero receptions as the Cowboys beat the Houston Texans  34-30 in Week 4. 

The Steelers could have used Porter in their loss to the Browns on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 4. Like with Dallas in Week 3 that prompted the Cowboys to make a push for Porter, the Steelers gave up a crunch-time field goal thanks to sloppy defense in the secondary on Thursday night. 

The loss dropped the Steelers to 2-2 on the season. They're currently tied for last place in the AFC South with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns and Baltimore Ravens are tied for the lead in the division with 3-1 records.

The Steelers will have a long week to prepare to host the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5. The Colts will enter that game coming off a 30-13 win over the Washington Commanders in London, and could have some jet lag for Pittsburgh to use to its advantage.