The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers traded a malcontent star, they received just a third-round pick in return for WR George Pickens. Could history repeat itself with CB Joey Porter Jr.? The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac thinks it’s possible.

“He has no leverage in this matter. I can’t tell you what they’re going to do because I don’t know, but I know this,” Dulac said via 102.5 WDVE’s Morning Show on Monday. “We’ve seen it in the past…If somebody comes and they’re willing to give them a decent offer, it wouldn’t shock me at all if they trade him.”

The Steelers have so far taken a diplomatic approach to Porter’s in-season holdout. The team has allowed him to remain sidelined under the guise of a back injury despite multiple reports indicating he is healthy enough to play.

Even Mike McCarthy continued using the “ramp-up period” explanation as recently as Monday, maintaining the team’s public stance on the situation.

At some point, the Steelers may have to stop playing nice if Porter continues to refuse to honor the final year of his rookie deal.

“They’re not just going to sit there and tolerate or acquiesce to what he wants. If he wants out and they’ve had enough, then you know what? They’ll get rid of him,” Dulac said.

The issue is, whatever team trades for him needs to turn around and give him the contract he was hoping for. Not that many teams have enough cap space to do so at this point in the NFL calendar. Porter may not return the Steelers as much draft capital as he would have in March, for example.

Dulac floated what a hypothetical trade return could look like for Porter.

“I think they could probably get a third-round pick for him,” he said. “I’m hesitant to call it a charade, but if the charade continues, then what’s the point of even having him around?”

Pittsburgh could still be holding out hope that Porter realizes he has little leverage and returns to the team for the remainder of his contract. But if it becomes clear that isn’t happening, the Steelers may decide it’s better to get something in return for him now rather than let the situation drag out into another Le’Veon Bell-like standoff.

And just like George Pickens, the trade return may not be as rich as some fans are hoping for.