The Pittsburgh Steelers underwent a roster tweak this offseason, with general manager Omar Khan importing several new veterans following the latest postseason bow-out.
The Steelers saw significant changes at quarterback, receiver, and in the secondary. It may not have gone exactly to the script, but it got the job done as Pittsburgh aims to retool after years of falling short.
"Obviously, coming off of last year, which was disappointing the way it ended, we had a plan, an idea of what we want," Khan said on Wednesday, via the team’s official website. "We had a vision of what we wanted this team to look like. To tell you that we laid out a plan and everything happened 100 percent, that wouldn't be honest of me to say that.
"But we think it came together pretty nicely. We filled some needs and we acquired some players that are, you know, Steelers, you guys heard me use that phrase before. I wouldn't say it was 100 percent the way we planned it. I don't think that's the case for anybody. But it came together."
The Steelers traded for receiver DK Metcalf, shipped George Pickens out of town, acquired defensive back Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith while sending safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to Miami, added veterans Darius Slay and Juan Thornhill to the secondary, and drafted defensive lineman Derrick Harmon and running back Kaleb Johnson, among others. In addition, the team just handed star pass rusher T.J. Watt a massive long-term extension.
The splashiest move came at quarterback, where Pittsburgh once again completely reworked the room. The team brought back Mason Rudolph and drafted Will Howard, and eventually added future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
Khan took some heat for how long it took for Rodgers to finally say yes to wearing black and gold, but the GM said he was comfortable with the process that landed him the four-time NFL MVP.
"We were obviously having conversations," Khan said. "Some people might view my patience or our patience as a weakness, but we view it as a strength. We just felt good about it. If there was a point where we didn't think things would end up where we wanted to end up, we would have gone in a different direction. But we just felt comfortable and felt good about it. We wanted Aaron Rodgers, and Aaron Rodgers wanted to be Steeler, and it worked out."
The Steelers are betting on Rodgers upgrading a position at which the club hasn't had stability since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
Pittsburgh hasn't won a playoff game since getting to the NFC Championship Game in the 2016 season. The eight-season drought without a playoff win is the longest in the Steelers' history since 1970.
