What Will Omar Khan’s Legacy Look Like By Finish Of Present Contract?

How Will Omar Khan’s legacy be defined as the Steelers’ general manager by the end of his contract extension?

On Friday, the Steelers announced the signing of GM Omar Khan to a three-year extension. They hired him three seasons ago, and now he is along for the ride for three more. Now under contract through the 2028 season, how will his legacy read by then?

Although he is already acknowledged for bold gestures, the element lacking in Omar Khan’s resume is results. With three seasons under his belt, the Steelers continue to come up empty in the playoffs. There are mitigating circumstances to that, such as inheriting Kenny Pickett, of course. It also takes some time to shape a roster in your image—generally more than three years.

Still, there are a lot of new faces since Omar Khan took over the Steelers. The only players remaining from the Kevin Colbert era are Cameron Heyward, Chris Boswell, Miles Killebrew, T.J. Watt, Mason Rudolph, James Pierre, Alex Highsmith, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Christian Kuntz, Pat Freiermuth, Jaylen Warren, Mark Robinson, DeMarvin Leal, Connor Heyward, and Calvin Austin III. Fifteen players, and some of them might not make the roster this year. I would estimate at least six of them could be classified as vulnerable, so we could soon be in single digits.

Of course, the Steelers haven’t had a great opportunity to attempt to draft a franchise quarterback under Omar Khan yet, which is s pretty legacy-setting moment for any general manager. So far, he has only drafted one quarterback—2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard. He has signed Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, though, and traded for Justin Fields. Rodgers, at least, is a one-year rental, a situation both sides know going in.

But we also know the Steelers are gearing up for the 2026 NFL Draft in the hopes of landing their potential franchise quarterback. In other words, next April will be a crucial landmark in Omar Khan’s legacy. How much will we know about “his” quarterback by the end of this current contract extension, though?

Obviously, the two other major pieces of his legacy have been his aggressive trades and his emphasis on the trenches. Under Khan, the Steelers have remade the offensive and defensive lines, but will his moves pay off? He has also parted with some major pieces, and even aggressively acquired some. This year, they traded George Pickens and Minkah Fitzpatrick, adding DK Metcalf, Jalen Ramsey, and Jonnu Smith. How will this move look a couple years down the line? And, of course, there’s plenty more for him to do between now and then.

The Steelers are rebuilding, or reloading, whatever they feel the need to call it, after another disappointment last season. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein.

Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. While they ultimately traded George Pickens, they have other decisions to make. The 2025 NFL Draft class is now behind us, so most of the roster construction is complete.

But we still have a long offseason ahead for Steelers football, or football in shorts. At least we can finally put the Aaron Rodgers situation to bed and move on to other things. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and filling holes as we go.