Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers felt like they were contenders for a stretch last season, though that belief was fool’s gold. Steelers general manager Omar Khan believes the team’s foundation is there and that a few more pieces could vault it into being a threat to win the Super Bowl.
“I think we have some very talented people on the roster,” Khan told Pittsburgh media Tuesday morning in Indianapolis. “I think, (if) we add some more talented people, I think we have a chance. I really do.”
The Steelers were 10-3 at one juncture last season. They then lost four straight to cap the regular season before Baltimore promptly showed them the door in the playoffs. During that five-game skid, Pittsburgh played the two teams that made the Super Bowl, Kansas City and Philadelphia. Neither game was as close as their scores suggested.
“Obviously, you’re 10-3, you’re naturally gonna feel good,” Khan said. “I mean, you guys all did, the fan base did, and, you know, it felt good. You know, we made a couple trades down there, and those trades were made with the intent of helping us down the stretch. … We’re extremely disappointed, obviously.”
The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2017. Still, Steelers president Art Rooney II defended his franchise’s culture in a sit-down interview with WTAE last month.
“Look, I’m very comfortable with the culture in this team,” Rooney said. “I think it is a winning culture. You know, I think people need to keep it in perspective here. Even though we haven’t kind of reached our goal of winning a Super Bowl, we’ve had winning teams. We’ve been making the playoffs. And I understand the disappointment in terms of not succeeding in the postseason and that, you know, that’s what we have to do.
“But, it’s not like we haven’t had some success around here. We just need to continue to build on the culture that we have and players like T.J. (Watt) and Cam Heyward. Those kind of players help.”
