At least one team has called Steelers about Joey Porter Jr.

Friday’s deep dive from ESPN into the far-simpler-than-it-seems contract issue between the Steelers and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. included a contention that the team has not received any “serious inquiries” regarding a trade. As one source put it in response, the Steelers could be trying to prevent a trade market from materializing.

We’re told that at least one team has called the Steelers about Porter. Whether that qualifies as a “serious inquiry” is a matter of interpretation.

The Steelers apparently want to keep Porter, for now. If they start actively negotiating a trade, the situation could take on a life of its own and quickly become an inevitability. (A fait accompli, if you’re feeling fancy.)

The issue for now, as we understand it, is that the Steelers want a lot. We’re told it’s in the neighborhood of a first-round pick or a second-round pick, plus a third-round pick.

And here’s where the dog starts chasing its tail. If the Steelers will apply that kind of value to Porter in a trade, why won’t they offer him a contract that he’ll take?

The threshold impediment continues to be the outdated internal rule that no new deals will be done after the regular season starts. That doesn’t matter unless and until the two sides are close. They still aren’t.

The trade deadline arrives in 52 days. This looks like it will keep unfolding one week at a time, until the Steelers decide to pay Porter or to allow the inquiry (or inquiries) to become “serious.”

It can happen quickly. Last year, the Cowboys abruptly decided to trade linebacker Micah Parsons after realizing that he fully intended to not play in 2025, due to a back issue, until he got the contract he wanted. Through two weeks, Porter is implementing that same approach.

The options are few. Pay him, trade him, play hardball in the hopes of getting him to blink, or do nothing — and pay him a weekly game check to not play.

The best play in the end may be to throw the door open to any and all interested teams, and to take the best offer they get.