Wake up and smell the coffee. The Pittsburgh Steelers have taken their old rulebook, torn it up, and thrown it into the shredder. Under GM Omar Khan, the previous way of doing business is no more. No team has made more headlines or been more aggressive this offseason than the Steelers. First, it was WR DK Metcalf. Then, it was dealing away WR George Pickens followed by finally landing QB Aaron Rodgers after a three-month wait.
Monday woke up the NFL world with another splash, the biggest yet, in the blockbuster deal that sent FS Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for CB Jalen Ramsey, TE Jonnu Smith, and a 2027 Day Three pick swap.
Surprising as the trade was, it’s fitting for a team turning over every offseason stone. Last week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport downplayed the odds of Pittsburgh landing Ramsey but noted Omar Khan had been aggressive and listening to every offer and opportunity, widening horizon’s the team rarely ventured towards.
In Kevin Colbert’s tenure, there was only one such move. The acquisition of Fitzpatrick in 2019, costing the Steelers a 2020 first-round pick.
To put the activity in perspective, Pittsburgh has made three trades this season: Metcalf, Pickens, and the Fitzpatrick/Ramsey/Smith pact. Year-by-year, here’s the number of notable offseason trades (pre-camp), giving or receiving, made in Kevin Colbert’s final full offseasons compared to Khan’s tenure (2022 was split by both).
2016 – Zero
2017 – Zero
2018 – One (Martavis Bryant to Raiders)
2019 – Two (Antonio Brown to Raiders, Marcus Gilbert to Cardinals)
2020 – One (Chris Wormley from Ravens)
2021 – Zero
2022 – Zero
2023 – One (Allen Robinson from Rams)
2024 – Three (Kenny Pickett to Eagles, Diontae Johnson to Panthers for Donte Jackson, Justin Fields from Bears)
2025 – Three (DK Metcalf from Seahawks, George Pickens to Cowboys, Minkah Fitzpatrick/Jalen Ramsey/Jonnu Smith deal)
To recap, here’s the total number of deals from each GM.
Kevin Colbert: Four Trades (6.5 Years)
Omar Khan: Seven Trades (3.5 Years)
Even Colbert’s come with caveats. Brown forced his way out of town while Gilbert nor Wormley were anything sniffing headline deals like this offseason. Bryant was truly the only major trade made on the team’s own volition. One spurred by Bryant’s repeated poor decisions but the team’s choosing all the same. All moves sending players out, not bringing them in.
Change is common with a new general manager. But Omar Khan wasn’t part of a brand new regime. He was an internal promotion with the team for more than two decades before replacing Colbert. He came paired with who is now the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach. It would’ve been easy to keep the same steady and predictable approach. Offseasons where DL Cam Thomas was the notable pickup.
It’s not a direct criticism of Kevin Colbert. He made mistakes, especially in his final years, but it’s a tenure that should be remembered fondly. Khan is simply changing course. Not by inches but by miles.
That might be a philosophical change but also a sign of a Steelers team attempting to get un-stuck. A franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016, experiencing the longest postseason win drought since the merger. An organization that has lost its last six playoff games, tied for the NFL’s longest active streak.
Plant corn, get corn. Do the same thing, get the same results. Pittsburgh is making radical moves in the hopes of radical change. Maybe it all goes well. Maybe it blows up in their face. At least it’ll be something different. That’s the idea.
It’s not just trades. As we noted, the flurry of offseason moves including an exodus of free agents has Pittsburgh replacing plenty of 2024 snaps. Add Fitzpatrick to the mix and the Steelers are replacing 9,325 total snaps (offense, defense, and special teams) from a year ago. Prior to Monday, the team already ranked top-ten in fewest percent of returning players. This trade only bumps them up the list.
This isn’t a five-win squad starting from scratch. It’s a 10-win, playoff bound squad looking to mix things up to. Doing anything to get out of neutral and the purgatory they find themselves in.
Will it work? Time will tell. It comes with risk and unknown variables. How will the pieces fit together? Is this group too old? If the offensive line doesn’t develop, will anything else matter?
Not paying a quarterback in years, something the franchise probably won’t do for awhile, the Steelers are taking advantage of the cap and cash there is to spend. No longer is Pittsburgh’s approach to tweak around the edges. Omar Khan is wielding a sword, not a scalpel, and he is cutting without mercy.
