After failing to land the big fish leading up to the start of the 2025 season, and then at the trade deadline at the receiver position, Pittsburgh Steelers’ GM Omar Khan was not going to be denied this offseason.
With names like Deebo Samuel, Cooper Kupp and DK Metcalf all available on the trade market this offseason, Khan cast his line against and finally landed his white whale, trading a 2025 second-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks to land Metcalf, proceeding to them give him a new five-year, $150 million deal, the largest per-season average in Steelers’ history.
Throughout last season, Khan undoubtedly heard the criticism leveled his way due to the swings and misses at the receiver position and the failure to address the massive hole offensively following the trade of Diontae Johnson. To Khan’s credit, he tried his hardest, nearly landing Brandon Aiyuk in a trade with the 49ers, then calling on names like Kupp, Metcalf and Darius Slayton of the Giants at the trade deadline, before ultimately getting Mike Williams from the New York Jets.
As the Steelers collapsed late down the stretch and the Steelers’ offense couldn’t do much of anything, especially with George Pickens missing three games late in the season due to a hamstring injury, that criticism of Khan only grew louder.
He heard the noise. He made it a priority, which he said at the NFL’s Scouting Combine just a few weeks ago.
“It’s obviously a priority,” Khan said when speaking to the media ahead of the Combine in Indianapolis. “I’m not gonna run from that. It’s just a reality. We have some guys that are free agents, and we weren’t good enough at that position.
“So, we’ll look at everything.”
Look at everything he did. Samuel found himself on the trade block once again, and was ultimately traded to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick. The noise got loud for the Steelers and Khan because they didn’t do that. Kupp was on the market again, too, and seemed like a logical choice for the Steelers, but there was never any buzz.
Then, Metcalf requested a trade. It seems that all along that was Khan’s ideal target.
Last year at the trade deadline, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Steelers “scoured the Earth” for a receiver as Khan was desperate to find an answer at receiver. That reportedly included a call to Seattle for Metcalf, who profiles as a great fit in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s scheme.
At the time, Metcalf wasn’t available, but that all changed last week as Metcalf requested a trade. Initially, the ask from Seattle was a first- and a third-round pick, on top of Metcalf wanting a new contract. That seemed far too high of an ask, but when the asking price dropped to a second Sunday morning, that seemed the sweet spot.
The Khan artist struck in a big way. The Steelers are much, much better for it now, too, even with a question mark at QB again.
He doesn’t consider himself aggressive, but his actions show that he is. He’s calculated, too, and he has one goal in mind: doing everything he can to help the Steelers get back to — and win — a Super Bowl. The Metcalf move is a great step in the right direction towards that goal.
