April 1, 2025 • 5 mins
GM Omar Khan talks to Max Starks about the newest additions to the roster, the quarterback room and offseason so far
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
A Omar. Thanks Max, Thanks for taking some time. We
appreciated sitting down here. Obviously, the annual meetings busy time.
Just kind of want to set the stage right. We're
a couple of weeks into free agency, a couple weeks
away from the draft. You guys have been busy this
time of year, and of course one of those most
notable moves the acquisition of DK Metcalf and the trade.
Just kind of talk to me about how that all
(00:29):
transpired and what all went down with that.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Sure, you know, as is customary, you know amongst the gms,
we have conversations leading into the off season getting a
feel for, you know, where people might have some access
or if you're looking to trade someone or kind of
get understanding what their needs are, see if there's something
we have that could work. And it just sort of
worked out. You know, we talked to Seattle and we
felt like we made a good offer and I came
(00:54):
together relatively quickly. You know, we got a deal done
and you can't say enough about how excited we are
to have him.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
In your position, obviously, you're responsible for building the roster,
and so when you look at a guy like a DK,
what are you hoping he can bring to the team
and add to the offense.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I talked to the combine about how important it was
first to add some playmakers, and that's what he is
in our mind, you know, I think he's going to
be a great asset to our offense and the city
and the organization, and I'm excited about what's to come.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
A lot of movement at the quarterback position for the Steelers.
Three guys from last year not there there. There are
new clubs now, but you also bring in a Mason
Rudolph and also a Skyler. Thompson, coach said yesterday Aaron
Rodgers came in. You all had a great conversation, a
great visit with him. He kind of give us an
update on the status of that position.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Sure, you know, right now we have two guys under
contract Max as you know, and as you mentioned, ideally,
you know, we go to camp with four at least
four quarterbacks on the roster. So right now, all options
are on the table, you know, whether it's filling those
those needs, whether by with free agents or via trade
or obviously of the draft that's coming up in a
(02:01):
few weeks. And we spend a lot of time on
all three phases of that, and I've viewed his time
as a friend not necessarily as something negative. So you know,
we'll we got time to figure it out. We feel
good about our process, right.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Also why I want to shift our attention to the
defense side of the ball because there were some major
acquisitions as well. Darius Slay. Yeah, I mean coming off
a Super Bowl season, a guy who brings a lot
of man experience to that corner position. Can you just
kind of talk about what it was to go and
identify and then bring in a guy like Darius Slay.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Sure, he was available. Obviously he's a world champion. That's
where we're seeking to be too, So love that about him.
He's very talented. I think his career speaks for itself.
Our interaction has been great with him so far, and
I'm excited about what he's gonna do for that defensive
back room.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
No, absolutely, And I think also another guy Wan thorn Hill, right,
I mean focusing on that secondary brings a lot of
starting safety experience and you were able to get him
that second week of free agency. Just kind of talk
about what made him him one of those ideal guys
in candidates that you wanted to bring in as well.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I don't want to necessarily say we had and needed
the position, but he was out there and we felt
good about adding him. You know, he's got great experience. Again,
it's been a part of some good teams and that
was important to us and experience, and he's been a
part of a couple of different defenses. And obviously we
know him from being in Cleveland, and you know, we've
seen him when he was at Kansas City and we
did a lot of homework on him leading up to
the draft.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
So as a GM, you're responsible for kind of getting
everything ready for the start of free agency, and then
there's like that wave of releases like we saw it
right before the start of free agency. You know, how
hard is that for you and your staff when you're
looking through and getting ready for that, Like you have
a plan about who's the noted guys, but then you
see these releases. How hard is that to kind of
(03:45):
transition and move through that effectively.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah, you know, hopefully when when all that starts to happen,
we have a pretty good idea of what's to come.
Cole Mark who does a great job of projecting things
for us, and he works very close with the PRO
department when that's when we're leading up to that time.
I'm just fortunate to have those good people around me.
They've kind of given me an idea of what's to come,
and so far over the last couple of years have
been pretty accurate and give me some good information.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Now, as I know, the entire college recruiting staff, they
do a tremendous job going out there. Sato and all
those guys just kind of talk to me about, like,
you know, PRO Day's the one on one visits, Just
what does it mean to spend that extra time with
these college kids as they're getting ready for this process,
and what kind of stuff do you and the entire
staff kind of get from those experiences.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah, you know what, for us, that's really important trying
to identify the right players for us to write people
for us. You know, Coach Dommon and I have been
on the road a bunch of the last few weeks
and been at some really good schools to see some
great players and really met some great, great young men
that could help us. Having that one on one time
with the guys and really getting to know them. It's
hard to put a value on that, and you know,
we're fortunately that we get out there and spend some
(04:51):
time with these guys, and it's not done. You know,
we still have thirty visits. We have thirty visits that
are coming. We have the opportunity to do zooms with
players which we plan to take advance. Uh, but it's
part of the process and it's uh, you know, it's
it's really important, but you know we're working hard trying
to get it right.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Omar just kind of one of one of my last questions.
You know, how free agency has gone thus far and
how you've kind of hit that. How does that change
the targets that you guys look at for the draft
based on what's available in the free agency pools you
get nearer to draft day.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, Max, I'll just say, you know, are our goal
is always to put ourselves in a position where we
don't have to take a guy, uh a specific position,
and I feel like we've added some key pieces to
what we're trying to accomplish. And uh, this draft is
you know, there's some really good players in this draft
that can help us at various positions. And you know,
we've been working hard at trying to make sure we
set our board right and there's more more worth to come.
(05:43):
This is the next was it? Three or four weeks
are going to be really important, but we're right in
the middle of it and feel good about it.
A Omar. Thanks Max, Thanks for taking some time. We
appreciated sitting down here. Obviously, the annual meetings busy time.
Just kind of want to set the stage right. We're
a couple of weeks into free agency, a couple weeks
away from the draft. You guys have been busy this
time of year, and of course one of those most
notable moves the acquisition of DK Metcalf and the trade.
Just kind of talk to me about how that all
(00:29):
transpired and what all went down with that.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Sure, you know, as is customary, you know amongst the gms,
we have conversations leading into the off season getting a
feel for, you know, where people might have some access
or if you're looking to trade someone or kind of
get understanding what their needs are, see if there's something
we have that could work. And it just sort of
worked out. You know, we talked to Seattle and we
felt like we made a good offer and I came
(00:54):
together relatively quickly. You know, we got a deal done
and you can't say enough about how excited we are
to have him.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
In your position, obviously, you're responsible for building the roster,
and so when you look at a guy like a DK,
what are you hoping he can bring to the team
and add to the offense.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I talked to the combine about how important it was
first to add some playmakers, and that's what he is
in our mind, you know, I think he's going to
be a great asset to our offense and the city
and the organization, and I'm excited about what's to come.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
A lot of movement at the quarterback position for the Steelers.
Three guys from last year not there there. There are
new clubs now, but you also bring in a Mason
Rudolph and also a Skyler. Thompson, coach said yesterday Aaron
Rodgers came in. You all had a great conversation, a
great visit with him. He kind of give us an
update on the status of that position.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Sure, you know, right now we have two guys under
contract Max as you know, and as you mentioned, ideally,
you know, we go to camp with four at least
four quarterbacks on the roster. So right now, all options
are on the table, you know, whether it's filling those
those needs, whether by with free agents or via trade
or obviously of the draft that's coming up in a
(02:01):
few weeks. And we spend a lot of time on
all three phases of that, and I've viewed his time
as a friend not necessarily as something negative. So you know,
we'll we got time to figure it out. We feel
good about our process, right.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Also why I want to shift our attention to the
defense side of the ball because there were some major
acquisitions as well. Darius Slay. Yeah, I mean coming off
a Super Bowl season, a guy who brings a lot
of man experience to that corner position. Can you just
kind of talk about what it was to go and
identify and then bring in a guy like Darius Slay.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Sure, he was available. Obviously he's a world champion. That's
where we're seeking to be too, So love that about him.
He's very talented. I think his career speaks for itself.
Our interaction has been great with him so far, and
I'm excited about what he's gonna do for that defensive
back room.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
No, absolutely, And I think also another guy Wan thorn Hill, right,
I mean focusing on that secondary brings a lot of
starting safety experience and you were able to get him
that second week of free agency. Just kind of talk
about what made him him one of those ideal guys
in candidates that you wanted to bring in as well.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I don't want to necessarily say we had and needed
the position, but he was out there and we felt
good about adding him. You know, he's got great experience. Again,
it's been a part of some good teams and that
was important to us and experience, and he's been a
part of a couple of different defenses. And obviously we
know him from being in Cleveland, and you know, we've
seen him when he was at Kansas City and we
did a lot of homework on him leading up to
the draft.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
So as a GM, you're responsible for kind of getting
everything ready for the start of free agency, and then
there's like that wave of releases like we saw it
right before the start of free agency. You know, how
hard is that for you and your staff when you're
looking through and getting ready for that, Like you have
a plan about who's the noted guys, but then you
see these releases. How hard is that to kind of
(03:45):
transition and move through that effectively.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah, you know, hopefully when when all that starts to happen,
we have a pretty good idea of what's to come.
Cole Mark who does a great job of projecting things
for us, and he works very close with the PRO
department when that's when we're leading up to that time.
I'm just fortunate to have those good people around me.
They've kind of given me an idea of what's to come,
and so far over the last couple of years have
been pretty accurate and give me some good information.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Now, as I know, the entire college recruiting staff, they
do a tremendous job going out there. Sato and all
those guys just kind of talk to me about, like,
you know, PRO Day's the one on one visits, Just
what does it mean to spend that extra time with
these college kids as they're getting ready for this process,
and what kind of stuff do you and the entire
staff kind of get from those experiences.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah, you know what, for us, that's really important trying
to identify the right players for us to write people
for us. You know, Coach Dommon and I have been
on the road a bunch of the last few weeks
and been at some really good schools to see some
great players and really met some great, great young men
that could help us. Having that one on one time
with the guys and really getting to know them. It's
hard to put a value on that, and you know,
we're fortunately that we get out there and spend some
(04:51):
time with these guys, and it's not done. You know,
we still have thirty visits. We have thirty visits that
are coming. We have the opportunity to do zooms with
players which we plan to take advance. Uh, but it's
part of the process and it's uh, you know, it's
it's really important, but you know we're working hard trying
to get it right.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Omar just kind of one of one of my last questions.
You know, how free agency has gone thus far and
how you've kind of hit that. How does that change
the targets that you guys look at for the draft
based on what's available in the free agency pools you
get nearer to draft day.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, Max, I'll just say, you know, are our goal
is always to put ourselves in a position where we
don't have to take a guy, uh a specific position,
and I feel like we've added some key pieces to
what we're trying to accomplish. And uh, this draft is
you know, there's some really good players in this draft
that can help us at various positions. And you know,
we've been working hard at trying to make sure we
set our board right and there's more more worth to come.
(05:43):
This is the next was it? Three or four weeks
are going to be really important, but we're right in
the middle of it and feel good about it.
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