Joey Porter Jr. made it to AT&T Stadium on Thursday. His first home game as a Dallas Cowboy still did not happen.
About 1 hour, 45 minutes before the 7:15 p.m. Central kickoff against Tampa Bay, the Cowboys ruled him out with an illness, ESPN's Todd Archer reported. Porter arrived, was examined, then left the building.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo later wrote that Porter had been vomiting with a "bad virus" and was not in condition to play. Coach Brian Schottenheimer said after the 24-16 loss that trainers reported the situation "got significantly worse" after treatment and that Porter was "very, very sick."
Dallas acquired Porter last week with its cornerback group already missing Week 1 starter Cobie Durant, who sat a third straight game with a hamstring strain. Durant "could return in Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers," Archer wrote.
That game, a Sunday night trip to Lambeau Field on Oct. 18, is the next chance for both corners to play.
What the trade clock still requires
Porter's acquisition carries a roster condition that illness now delays. For Dallas to surrender its 2027 sixth-round pick as part of the Steelers deal, Porter must be active for two games, Archer reported.
He played 24 defensive snaps in Sunday's win at Houston, 19 of them in coverage, and was targeted once without allowing a catch, according to DallasCowboys.com's Pic 6 notes from that Week 4 game. Thursday would have been his second game. Because of the illness, that condition now carries at least into the Green Bay game, Archer reported.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Porter had an illness and flu symptoms, according to the team's postgame notes. The Cowboys' website said the mini-bye after Thursday's game gives him time to recover before the Packers trip.
