The Joey Porter Jr. trade rumors have swirled around the Pittsburgh Steelers for weeks, but concrete reporting from ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter now confirms that multiple teams have begun making inquiries about the availability of the Steelers cornerback. The Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions are among the teams that have reached out, according to Schefter’s Sunday morning column, and Pittsburgh appears willing to engage.

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Steelers willing to listen to trade offers for Porter Jr.

The Steelers would be willing to listen to trade offers for Porter according to sources, but they also would want a strong compensation package if they were going to deal the fourth-year star.

So the immediate question becomes: what does that compensation look like?

I would have to imagine general manager Omar Khan wants nothing less than a first-round pick. I don’t think Khan is even picking up the phone if another team isn’t offering one. Now, is that what he’s ultimately going to settle for? Probably not. We’ve been doing mock trade offers for weeks here at A to Z Sports, and the going rate for a corner of Porter’s caliber seems to be a second- to fourth-round pick, and maybe even a sweetener on top of that.

The situation has become untenable

The truth is, the relationship between Joey Porter Jr. and the Steelers has deteriorated to the point where both sides appear to be heading for a divorce. One side doesn’t want to play, the other side says that he can play, and the two are clearly on a collision course.

In recent weeks, Pittsburgh wasn’t even entertaining conversations about moving Porter. That has now changed. Based on Schefter’s reporting, we know that the Steelers are at least listening, which represents a significant shift in posture from the front office.

What happens next for Joey Porter Jr. and the Steelers?

I don’t know exactly how this plays out. The compensation demands could scare teams off, or a desperate franchise could step up with a package Khan can’t refuse. But the trajectory is clear.

For now, Joey Porter Jr. and the Pittsburgh Steelers seem destined for a split. We will see where it goes from here, but this is no longer just speculation. The calls are coming in, and the Steelers are answering. Does Sunday’s game, where Asante Samuel Jr. was benched, change things? The result (a W) may matter more than the process at this point in Pittsburgh. I assume the Steelers try to reason with Porter coming off a high, but this relationship may be too far gone.