Pittsburgh Steelers’ long-term plan at quarterback becomes clear
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan watches warm ups before an NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)A
The Pittsburgh Steelers have overturned their quarterback room for two straight seasons. That might be a signal they are dysfunctional at the quarterback position, and even though they are pursuing Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh still has to find a long-term option.
General manager Omar Khan talked about the team’s plan at quarterback, and knows at some point, they have to find a long-term solution.
“It’s not ideal. I’ll put it that way. We addressed it last year. We’re addressing it this year. At some point, we have to find the long-term solution, I’ll say. That might happen this year. It could happen next year. In the meantime, we’re going to keep doing whatever we can to win a championship this year,” Khan said.
In addition, the team is set for four compensatory picks, with two of those in the top four rounds, and the possibility of three going into the top four rounds. Khan admitted it was a consideration.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s for next year. What I’ll say is that we were in a position this year where we understood where our contracts were with our free agents. A possibility does exist, a good possibility does exist for us to acquire comp picks. That’s always been a part of the process this year. You guys are intelligent people. You guys can read through it and see it. The fact that we’ve had the opportunity to acquire picks, I don’t know exactly how it’s going to shake out yet. That’s obviously been something we’ve taken into consideration,” Khan said.
The Steelers will take a quarterback, perhaps in the next two drafts. That rookie, whether it is in 2025 and 2026, seems set to be part of the equation for the Steelers’ long-term plan at quarterback.
Those compensatory picks could be ammo for the Steelers to trade up and make a move. The official amount and set pick number will not be announced until the 2026 NFL offseason.
Steelers GM addresses George Pickens’ future after DK Metcalf trade
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens is going nowhere. General manager Omar Khan addressed Pickens’ future with the team after their trade for DK Metcalf, and he says it has no effect on their future plans for the fourth-year wide receiver.
“No. You need more than one receiver in this league, and we’re fortunate we have George[Pickens]and Calvin [Austin III] and excited about what Roman [Wilson] is going to be able to do for us,” Khan said.
While Khan strongly endorsed Pickens, head coach Mike Tomlin did not shy away from the situation with Metcalf either. With two wide receivers who want the football and will act like alpha wide receivers, Tomlin views it as a good problem to have.
“We’ll figure that out, but that’s not a problem as I see it. These guys that want to be significant reasons why we’re successful, guys that have the talent to do so, I’ll stand in line for those issues,” Tomlin said.
On Sunday, Tomlin gave a rebuttal to the idea that Metcalf and Pickens were too similar in skill set to coexist in the same offense. In fact, Tomlin believes they can do it quite easily.
“I don’t necessarily view them as similar, to be quite honest with you. They’re both downfield capable, but they’re different people. I mean, DK [Metcalf] is a big man, ‘GP’ [George Pickens] is tall. There’s a difference,” Tomlin said.
None of these quotes sound like a team that is gearing up to trade Pickens. Pickens is in a contract year and could want to be paid, but the Steelers do have room to accommodate a second wide receiver contract given their lack of future investments in the team at larg
Pickens is coming off a season where he was the lone top wide receiver, but his field stretching skillset should match with Metcalf’s in Arthur Smith’s scheme.
