The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t have a starting quarterback under contract—and that’s kind of a big deal, Omar Khan admits. Ostensibly, the choice is between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields insofar as the choice is theirs to make. The Steelers general manager acknowledged on Steelers Nation Radio that the choice of quarterback will have a ripple effect.
“Those guys are both good quarterbacks,” Khan said of the Steelers’ options between Wilson and Fields. “They have different styles, and depending on who our quarterback is, it affects the type of receivers we sign, the type of running back. If we’re adding some offensive line pieces, or it affects the tight end position. That’s important to have there. And until we have a good idea of what’s gonna happen there, it’s gonna be pretty vague. It’s a vague situation, all the other position groups.”
Arguably, this comment becomes more interesting when considering Steelers president Art Rooney II’s comments earlier this offseason. In acknowledging they were unlikely to re-sign both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, he said he would prefer to have a quarterback room in which they could run the same system for everybody.
Now we have Khan saying that the decision at quarterback will dictate the decision at wide receiver. The Steelers’ general manager also admitted that they have huge decisions to make at wide receiver. While that may or may not include George Pickens, they need playmakers. But who is a playmaker for Russell Wilson, and who for Justin Fields?
And while Khan also mentioned the offensive line and basically everything else, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to harp on the wide receivers. For one thing, the Steelers already have at least four-fifths of their 2025 starting offensive line in place. At most, they might add one starter, perhaps to accommodate a less mobile quarterback.
And the running back position isn’t affected nearly as much by the quarterback as is wide receiver. So, what is the exact implication of this comment? What would the Steelers’ wide receiver room look like if they re-sign Justin Fields versus re-signing Russell Wilson? Might they shy away from adding a big-name veteran who demands targets if they re-sign Fields?
Either way, the Steelers need to find players who can deliver on offense. They didn’t have enough of those last year, even if they tried to trade for a blue-chip wide receiver. I don’t see them doing much at tight end relative to the quarterback situation, though, especially with the top of the depth chart already set.
