Did someone say Joey Porter Jr. and "potential trade target" in the same sentence? I know that if I heard those two things together, my ears would perk up immediately. The New York Giants have an obvious need for a No. 1 cornerback in the secondary, and general manager Joe Schoen should be one of the front-office executives blowing up Pittsburgh's phone right now to see what's what.
The sudden trade buzz surrounding the Steelers' Pro Bowl corner stems from a contract stalemate that Schoen should do his very best to exploit.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that rival teams are wondering if Porter could be moved, making this the perfect time for Big Blue to strike. Adding a physical, 6-foot-2 defensive back to the back end of the defense would give new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson a true press-man centerpiece to build around.
Giants fans remember the 2023 NFL Draft all too well, when New York infamously selected Deonte Banks 24th overall over Porter. That decision looks worse with each passing day. While Banks is coming off a strong preseason performance against the Miami Dolphins, three seasons of regular-season tape make him way too hard to trust as a long-term staple.
Giants should be all over the Joey Porter Jr. trade buzz
Paying up to get a player like JPJ makes a lot of sense, especially when you look at the current roster.
Paulson Adebo struggled mightily as the CB1 last year, and his second season in East Rutherford isn't exactly off to the best start. Rookie Colton Hood is still trying to find his footing in the league. Meanwhile, the idea of Greg Newsome II remains better than the actual player on the field despite a few flashes this offseason.
Porter would instantly step in as the undisputed No. 1 corner and the focal point of the defensive backfield. He finished last season with a career-high 74.1 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. Spotrac lists his current market value at three years and just over $70 million, but his camp is reportedly eyeing a deal north of $30 million annually.
That's about $7 million a year off in extension talks. We in the biz call that: not even close.
$30 million annually is definitely a hefty pill to swallow for a guy who has cracked PFF’s top-20 coverage grades exactly once. But that's also why this move is actually somewhat realistic for New York -- his trade value won't cost the farm like some of the other CBs in similar spots. He won't command the haul of a Christian Gonzalez, but it'd still be at least a Day 2 pick.
Paying Porter would also give the Giants another reason to think long and hard about next offseason’s looming Kayvon Thibodeaux decision.
Thibs is poised to demand a massive payday himself, which could be a tough pill to swallow for a guy who projects as the team’s third-best pass rusher. If New York sends a second-round pick to Pittsburgh and hands Porter a monster extension, letting Thibodeaux test the open market a year later becomes a lot easier to stomach.
Depending on what kind of contract Thibodeaux lands in free agency and how the rest of New York’s offseason shakes out, the Giants could potentially land a high compensatory pick and recoup some of that lost draft capital.
It's at least worth a call to see what it'd take to bring Joey Porter Jr. to North Jersey.
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