Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan, T.J. Watt say a lot without saying it all

Steelers general manager Omar Khan hasn’t spoken to the Pittsburgh media since the team traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys back in May.

There’s been a lot to catch up on since then.

“We signed Aaron Rodgers, and (I) can’t wait for the fans to get to know him. We’ve been getting to know him, and it’s been really cool,” Khan said Wednesday as the Steelers reported for training camp. “(We) feel good about having him lead our team, our offense.”

Then Khan paused to collect his bearings.

“Hmm … what else have we done?”

Um, a lot. As Khan well knows. He’s been at the center of all of it.

Trading Minkah Fitzpatrick. Acquiring Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey. Signing T.J. Watt to the biggest non-quarterback deal in NFL history.

Yeah. That’s most of it. I can’t blame Khan for getting caught up in the swirl of sequencing details.

But in explaining the thought process of those moves on Wednesday, Khan, coach Mike Tomlin and Watt himself all said a lot, while attempting to say nothing at all.

• Fitzpatrick is in Miami. Pickens in Dallas. The Steelers could use a starting safety to run with DeShon Elliott and a No. 2 receiver opposite DK Metcalf.

That’s even if they feel Smith and Ramsey can soak up reps at those positions.

Khan was asked if the Steelers might look to bolster the roster.

“I feel really good about where our team is right now. So, to say that we’re out there trying to find someone, that’s not the case,” Khan said. “If an opportunity comes available, we’ll look at it. But I feel really good about our team.”

Tomlin added, “Into summer, we continue to work on the talent acquisition component of this team development.”

So, they’re looking for help at those two spots.

Whether Khan and Tomlin say it directly or not, they have to be. Both men may like Juan Thornhill, Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson and others to fill those voids if needed. But the voids remain, and the organization would be doing itself a disservice if it didn’t continue to keep options open to bolster the depth chart at those spots.

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• I asked Tomlin if the Steelers might try to move Watt around more often in 2025 in an attempt to get him away from chips and double teams.

“We’ve had an ongoing relationship for a number of years, and he has a desire to be obviously successful, and we do for him as well,” Tomlin said. “So that’s just been ongoing and part of our offseason leading up to now.”

That wasn’t exactly a firm commitment to experimenting more than the defense has done in the past. However, when Tomlin was asked about the prospect of having Joey Porter Jr., Ramsey and Darius Slay all in the defensive backfield at the same time, Tomlin’s eyes lit up when it came to describing what that could mean for the Steelers regarding a more diversified pass rush.

“That’s what is exciting to us — our ability to match up and play man-to-man against anyone in this game,” Tomlin said. “I think it’s going to do nothing but strengthen our schematics — the supplemental things, the zone pressures, the bogus pressure and things of that nature. I’m really excited about the talent that we acquired.”

Translation? Yes. If the Steelers feel like they can hold up better in the back end with those three at least, that frees up the other eight to get creative in the pass rush and coverage in every other area of the field.

• Tomlin refused to say who was going to play what position among the three corners.

When asked specifically if Slay could play some safety, Tomlin replied, “They’re coverage people. Describe them however you wish to describe them. They’re capable of covering eligibles and minimizing the time and success of the offensive passing game.”

Meanwhile, when asked more broadly about Ramsey’s skills, Tomlin said, “He’s a football player first, and a positional player second. When he came out in the draft, I think he was the No. 1 safety on our board as well as the No. 1 corner on our board. That speaks to his versatility. His tape has done nothing but solidify that perspective we had on him since he’s been in the league.”

It certainly sounds to me that Ramsey is their lead candidate to be the safety, nickel or slot guy, while Slay and Porter are more likely to play more traditional cornerback roles.

• Watt was asked if his now-famous “peace out” Instagram post was meant to deliver a message early in the negotiation process with the team.

“Sometimes it’s just fun to have fun with the narratives out there,” Watt replied. “It’s fun to see what you guys are all writing — thinking that things are one way, even though they’re completely a different way. So sometimes it’s fun, especially when it’s early in the offseason, to kind of throw something out there and see what happens. It stirred things up a lot more than I ever thought it could.”

In other words, “Yeah. It was … and it worked. To the tune of $123 million.” Watt also referred such tactics as “tools and chess pieces.”

Checkmate. Do not pass go. Please hand over $41 million per year.

• Later in his Wednesday presser, I asked Watt if the Steelers had followed the advice from his brother, J.J., would he have been willing to sign for less money than he eventually got instead of waiting for Maxx Crosby ($106.5 million, $91.5 million guaranteed, an average salary of $35.5 million per year) and Myles Garrett ($88 million guaranteed a signing/$123 overall, AAV of $40 million per year).

“Timing. It takes two to get a deal done,” Watt said. “That’s all I’ll say about that. But I’m just glad that a deal got done when it did. I’m glad to be here.”

If I’m reading Watt correctly, this is him saying that, yes, if he felt as if he was truly resetting the market for an edge rusher first before anyone else, he would’ve signed in March.

But his “it takes two” comment leads me to believe the Steelers really had to be dragged into going that high.

Listen: Tim Benz recaps the opening of Steelers training camp for 2025