(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)
Wow! I heard about the trade late last night and couldn't believe the Cowboys pulled the trigger on getting Joey Porter Jr. What do you think of this move, and would you consider this to finally be the all-in move from Jerry we've been waiting for? – Daniel Bowers/Springfield, MO
Patrik: Yes, yes it is, all things considered. When owner and general manager Jerry Jones made it clear he'd trade the future for now, just a few weeks ago, and less than a year after trading to acquire Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams, I said then that it was the bat signal going up to let other teams know Dallas is open for big business.
This is big, big business. The Cowboys aren't sitting on their hands accepting 1-2 as their defensive secondary is ravaged by injury. So not only is this an all-in move for now, but Porter is also due a massive contract so it's likely a move for later as well, but later for later, if you know what I mean. Porter instantly upgrades the cornerbacks room and could even take the field as early as three days from now against the Texans. The Cowboys understand they have a closing window on a top-tier QB, and they're no longer fiddling around with the it ... they're throwing the kitchen sink through it before it closes.
Tommy: I think this move is one that helps the Cowboys in the secondary based on the injuries that they've suffered in that room up to this point. The greater question is how much of a boost is it going to be, and that's something that can only be determined as the season goes along.
Think back to that George Pickens trade: Expectations were that he'd be the WR2 and compliment CeeDee Lamb. Then, he goes and racks up over 1,400 yards and has a career season. Could a similar jump happen with Porter? There's a chance, sometimes new environments help young players. Christian Parker has worked with the tall, long-armed press man corners like Porter in the past (Pat Surtain, Quinyon Mitchell), now we'll see if he can help Porter find similar success.
This is the kind of move that shows you are "all-in" per se, or at the very least trying to be. The Cowboys didn't wait until the middle of the season to address their secondary struggles, they went and got it ahead of their fourth game of the season. That to me tells me they still strongly believe they can be contenders, and feel they're players like Porter away from reaching that potential. Whether or not they reach it is a different conversation, and we'll have to see how everything plays out.
Mailbag
Here's your chance to ask a question for the staff writers. Submit your entry now!
