One day after pouring cold water some rumors that the Pittsburgh Steelers were close to adding a “significant playmaker” to the roster following the 2024 NFL Draft, GM Omar Khan cracked the door back open just a bit.
During an appearance on Wednesday morning on 102.5 WDVE, Khan reiterated that the Steelers are not close to having anything happening on the trade or free agency front. However, he did state that “conversations continue” regarding a potential move.
“There’s nothing in the works right now. Nothing close to happening. I can tell you conversations continue, but there’s nothing close to happening,” Khan said to 102.5 WDVE Morning Show host Randy Baumann, according to audio via 102.5 WDVE.
Rumors and speculation regarding a potential move coming for Khan and the Steelers spread like wildfire Monday afternoon after former Steelers cornerback and current CBS Sports analyst Bryant McFadden sent a tweet stating that Khan was cooking something up and that the team was close to landing a “significant playmaker.”
That led to speculation regarding names like San Francisco’s Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, Denver’s Courtland Sutton, and more, including even a potential reunion with former cornerback Patrick Peterson, who is McFadden’s cousin and podcast co-host.
But on Tuesday, Khan appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and shut down those rumors quickly.
“I heard about it. I didn’t exactly see it. There’s nothing going on right now,” Khan said. “I’m not exactly sure what the verbiage was, what was reported. But nothing to report.”
Of course, Khan isn’t going to state on live TV that something is close. It’s not what he does, though he did break the news of the Mitch Trubisky extension last summer. But that was regarding player on his roster, so that was a different situation.
Coming out of the draft, the Steelers still have a need at receiver even after drafting Michigan’s Roman Wilson at No. 84 overall in the third round. Even having Wilson to pair with George Pickens, the Steelers still need to add another outside receiver as Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins are the only other options on the boundary.
Though there might not be anything to report from Khan on the trade or free agency front, that doesn’t mean he’s not working the phones looking to do everything in his power to upgrade the roster. Something is undoubtedly going to happen between now and the start of training camp.
What that is remains to be seen, but Khan is cooking.
