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What the national media keeps getting wrong about general manager Omar Khan and the Steelers' plan for the 2025 season

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Gregson | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 5:45 PM ET

There seems to be a contingent of national media that believe the Pittsburgh Steelers front office has no idea what it's doing.

That all of these trades and signings are with no real game plan.

Here's what they are missing...

What the national media is getting wrong about the Steelers' plans

"So they get rid of a safety, who's a little past his prime, and they add a corner, who's more expensive, Jalen Ramsey, who's past his prime. They get rid of a very high-maintenance wide receiver in George Pickens, and then they inherit a wide receiver who can be high-maintenance, DK Metcalf. You're just making moves to make moves, said Colin Cowherd on The Herd . "There is no plan. If you were to move off George Pickens and acquire Terry McLaurin, the adult in the room, that's a move l'd get."

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Let's break this narrative down. The belief is that swapping Pickens for Metcalf makes no sense because they are both headcases. When in reality, DK Metcalf has never done anything bad outside of running a little hot during games and against premier competition (including new teammate Jalen Ramsey).

Whereas George Pickens lacked professionalism and accountability, which included repeated fines, tardiness, and a lack of maturity. That's a little different than DK Metcalf.

How about Ramsey and Fitzpatrick. I'll give Cowherd and the national media this, Ramsey has been known to burn bridges (Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins), where as Minkah was one of the best team leaders in recent memory.

But speaking purely on football, it's hard to look at what Ramsey and Fitzpatrick did in 2024, and think one wasn't much better than the other. It's hard to discredit the Steelers for aiming to fix a position that hasn't been the same since Mike Hilton left for the Cincinnati Bengals.

So "moves to make moves" is the kind of thing you say without context. The kind of thing you believe when you don't know the ins and outs of the roster the way Khan and Co. do.

We'll see who's right in the end.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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