Steelers' Deshon Elliot Has Direct Message For Joey Porter Jr After Big Trade

No one ever really knows when Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan is getting ready to make a move. The rumors have been swirling surrounding cornerback Joey Porter Jr. for weeks, and finally on Wednesday evening a trade transpired. The Dallas Cowboys came calling and acquired the defender for a 2027 sixth-round selection along with a second in 2028. The two sides couldn't reach an agreement on a new contract by the time the regular season began, and that led to back pain lingering for the former Penn State standout. Now, he will head to the NFC with the Steel City in the rearview.

There is no doubt about it that this move is a loss for the Steelers at the surface. Down the road, this opinion could change, but the team dealt its best cornerback. For an organization that has struggled drafting the position for some time, it comes of as a legitimate head-scratcher. Time will tell which side ends up regretting this move, but Khan will be under fire for it.

This decision proves that the Steelers are extremely high on rookie corner Daylen Everette. He is going to see a lot of playing time moving forward, and the good news is that he has plenty of veterans around him to lean on. One of those guys, in fact, has yet to suit up due to injury. Pittsburgh surprisingly put safety DeShon Elliott on Injured Reserve (IR) to begin the campaign, and he is nearing a return.

The NFL is a business, and the Porter situation is a great example of why and how. That doesn't mean, however, that the Steelers locker room is overly-pleased with the most recent trade that Khan put together. Elliott took to his Instagram story very early on Thursday morning to express how he is feeling after the move. Overall, he's not thrilled that one of his closer friends on the team is being shipped off.

"Da*n. That's my lil bro. Be great man," Elliott posted on X.

The safety is still rooting for his now-former teammate. When guys spend so much time together throughout several years, they become like family to one another. That appears as if that is the case here. Porter came into the league in 2023, and Elliott has been with the Steelers since 2024. While the two will no longer be operating in the same secondary together, they likely created a bond that will last a lifetime.

Pittsburgh's secondary will now have to operate for the rest of the season as it did to start: without Porter. The good news is that Elliott should be able to get back out on the field relatively soon. Still, there are plenty of top-notch receivers on the schedule for the next couple of months, so the cornerback might truly be missed if someone does not step up in his absence. In Week 3, Asante Samuel Jr. even gave way to Everette because of what seemed to be a size disadvantage.

Fans shouldn't be surprised if there is another move that transpires as the Steelers look to fortify the cornerback room. Porter was supposed to be a crucial piece to the puzzle, but now he will contribute in Dallas; that is, if that pesky back pain decides to magically disappear in the coming weeks (or days). Elliott was probably speaking for a lot of the locker room when he hinted that the trade was upsetting.

Steelers Set Very Clear Standard Moving Forward

It doesn't matter if your dad played in Pittsburgh. It also doesn't matter if you are the clear-cut best player on the roster at your position. The Steelers will not negotiate contracts in-season, and that was made very evident once again. Khan and the team's leadership would rather stick to their philosophies and deal with the consequences later, it seems.

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