The Dallas Cowboys are set to hand Joey Porter Jr. a much bigger role as they look for answers to their struggling secondary following their loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Porter joined the Cowboys in a trade two weeks ago after a contract holdout with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played 25 snaps in his Dallas debut during the Week 4 win over the Houston Texans and impressed enough to raise expectations for his role.
However, Porter missed Thursday’s 24-16 loss to Tampa Bay after becoming seriously ill. The Buccaneers repeatedly targeted DaRon Bland as Jalon Daniels threw for 189 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ latest defensive setback.
Joey Porter Jr. expected to play a major role against Green Bay Packers
Dallas has promised changes after the defeat and Porter appears set to be a major part of them.
Speaking to the Cowboys’ website, Porter revealed there should be no restriction on his workload against the Green Bay Packers. He said: “That’s what I’m shooting for. That’s what they’re shooting for as well. So that’s what we’re gonna try to do.”
Porter also explained just how bad his illness became before the Tampa Bay game.
He said: “My throat was itchy in the morning when we had our little walkthrough and I was trying to get on top of it. I told them about it. They gave me the right stuff for it and then throughout the day it just kept getting worse and worse. And on my way to the game, that’s when I realized when I was throwing up outside of my Uber on the way to the game. So it was brutal, not going to lie.”
Porter said he could not keep anything down and was eventually sent home from the stadium. He has since recovered and said the additional time away helped him become more comfortable with the Cowboys’ playbook.
The timing could not be more important for Dallas. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love has found success with the deep ball while the Cowboys’ secondary has struggled and is dealing with injuries.
Porter is expected to play a lot of snaps on Sunday. After seeing what happened without him against Tampa Bay, Dallas will be hoping the former Steelers cornerback can provide an immediate boost.
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