Throughout the history of the franchise, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been largely conservative when it comes to player acquisition via trades and in free agency.
Things have seemingly changed a bit in the last week under GM Omar Khan, who is in his second full offseason in charge of the Steelers.
In the last week, Khan has signed veteran quarterback Russell Wilson to a cheap one-year deal, added linebacker Patrick Queen and safety DeShon Elliott in free agency, as well as punter Cameron Johnston. He also traded away the likes of wide receiver Diontae Johnson and quarterback Kenny Pickett in separate deals and acquired cornerback Donte Jackson and quarterback Justin Fields via trades.Â
Entering a pivotal offseason, Khan has made some surprising moves, but he’s been aggressive in his pursuit of one thing and one thing only: getting the Steeles back into Super Bowl contention.
The Fields trade Saturday evening was the latest, and though Fields will come to Pittsburgh as Wilson’s backup, the move is a resoundingly popular one for the Black and Gold. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio is amazed by the work that Khan and the Steelers have done so far this offseason, calling the latest flurry of moves this week a “major coup” for the Steelers.
“I’m amazed that the Steelers have taken a step away from the way they usually do things and gotten so much this week. This has been a major coup for the Steelers, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in one week. It’s unbelievable,” Florio said in a reaction video for NFL on NBC on YouTube. “And the Steelers are the last team that you would expect to make a kind of move like this. Hey, Jerry Jones, you wanna know what all in looks like? All in looks like what the Steelers are doing at the quarterback position. They’re all in.
“They’re trying to address one of the weaknesses on the team. They’re trying to get an offense to go along with that defense that’s already championship caliber.”
This week has been a major coup for the Steelers and Khan, undoubtedly. The Steelers plugged a major hole at inside linebacker with the Queen signing and then did the same thing at punter with Johnston. Elliott was a strong depth signing that filled a need at safety next to Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee.
The trade of Johnson to the Carolina Panthers for Jackson was rather surprising, but reports are Johnson asked for a trade, and Jackson’s acquisition has been a long time coming for the Steelers, who were trying to get him via trade last season. Presumably, he steps in as CB2 next to Joey Porter Jr. in 2024.Â
Then, of course, there is the movement the Steelers have had at quarterback. Landing Wilson for just $1.21 million in 2024 is a terrific move, taking advantage of the discount price due to the Denver Broncos paying him more than $38 million due to guaranteed money. The trade of Pickett came after he reportedly handled the addition of Wilson “poorly” which then opened the door for the Fields trade today.
As the Steelers stand currently, they’ve certainly gotten better at quarterback compared to where they were when the season ended, and they’ve strengthen the defense further. Khan has done a very nice job moving and shaking things to add key pieces to the roster, which has broken from the traditional way of the Steelers being conservative in free agency and in the trade market and simply focusing on the draft.
That’s arguably the most positive development of the offseason.
