Tim Benz: Where Omar Khan's positive spin on George Pickens may be coming from

If you squint, you can maybe see a path that wide receiver George Pickens can walk down with the Pittsburgh Steelers for at least one more year.

And based on how general manager Omar Khan spoke about Pickens this past week at the NFL scouting combine, he started doing exactly that.

Back in January, team president Art Rooney II and head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t leave us thinking Pickens’ future in Pittsburgh was secure even beyond this offseason. However, the way that Khan was quoted in Indianapolis, a different picture is coming into focus.

“I had a really solid exit meeting with G.P., and I can tell you that he has a desire to be great,” Khan said Tuesday. “He has a desire to be great here. We have a desire for him to be great, and to be great here. With respect to the contract, we won’t discuss that publicly, and usually those things are addressed at a later date.”

I don’t believe for a second that Khan’s apparent optimism about Pickens’ future in Pittsburgh was forged from an exit interview. Whatever exit interviews the 23-year-old conducted did little to encourage Rooney or Tomlin to do much more than say that they hoped Pickens matures a lot this offseason.

I think Khan’s brighter outlook is more likely the result of how Pickens and his agents are planning to handle negotiations for his contract extension — and, potentially, all three sides being on the same page.

For both parties, that might be a joint understanding that it’s mutually beneficial to just play out this year without a contract extension at all.

I’ve long believed that the Steelers would be best served trading Pickens now. If you give him big money as he enters the last year of his contract in 2025, he may be even harder to deal with than he is presently. He has been a constant loose cannon despite having no leverage, tenure or financial security to speak of.

Imagine what he would be like to manage if he had the Steelers over a barrel with long-term money and guaranteed dollars woven into the salary cap for years to come.

If the Steelers elect to lowball Pickens because his production hasn’t been No. 1 worthy or don’t even offer him an extension at all, he’ll either hold out, hold in or be so obnoxious during training camp that the whole team might hope that just walks away.

Yet, that’s the safer, more prudent option than throwing a ton of money at Pickens and just hoping his behavior issues improve.

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Maybe this is where Khan’s optimism for at least this year is coming from. It’s possible Pickens’ representation at Athletes First has given him some good advice. Maybe Trevon Smith and company have convinced Pickens to look at the big picture and said words to the following effect:

”Look, George, your stats are good, but they aren’t quite $30 million, No. 1 receiver worthy. You were hurt last year. Your numbers are down across the board. You’ve never scored more than five touchdowns in a year. Your personality is viewed as radioactive right now.

“So show up. Ball out. Have your best season. Don’t demand a trade. Don’t demand a contract extension. Do your best. Play the Tee Higgins card. Hit free agency.

“Someone out there will give you a better contract for more money than the Steelers will anyway in 2026. At that point, if Rooney, Tomlin and Khan really want to keep you, hold their feet to the fire. Break the bank, or refuse to sign the franchise tag and hold out next summer when your value is higher to Pittsburgh and the rest of the league. In 2026, maybe you will wind up on a real team with a real shot to win with a stable QB situation and a more modern passing game. Do you really want to stay in Pittsburgh beyond 2025 anyway, even if they are paying you big money?”

To me, that sounds like a smart way to play it for Pickens. No, he’s not getting big guaranteed money now. But one guarantee he is certainly avoiding is locking himself into playing at Acrisure Stadium with a QB depth chart that is just as likely to be a jumbled mess in 2026 and 2027 as we all know it will be in 2025.

From the Steelers’ point of view, no, they wouldn’t be buying low on Pickens as they could this summer. But they’d also be avoiding entitling a guy who is already too entitled as it is, and they leave themselves the option to lock him up, walk away, or play the franchise tag/trade game in ‘26.

In my mind, that’s the eye of the needle to thread on Pickens’ situation for both sides. Maybe the Steelers, Pickens, and his reps are in agreement.

And maybe that’s why Khan was singing such a happy tune about one of the franchise’s most complicated matters less than a week ago.