Khan: Rudolph 'knows we want him back,' stresses QB competition

INDIANAPOLIS -- Entering this week's NFL Combine, the Steelers have just one quarterback on their active roster in Kenny Pickett. Thus, the need to add to the position has thrust the Steelers into the center of the quarterback rumor mill.

During press conferences held Thursday at the Indiana Convention Center, general manager Omar Khan reaffirmed sentiments set by team president Art Rooney II and head coach Mike Tomlin that there is still belief in Pickett's development heading into his third season: 

"I have full faith in Kenny," Khan said. "He's shown us some good things and obviously there were some issues with the offense, and I'm excited about the impact that Arthur Smith's going to have on him. Arthur's very optimistic about Kenny and I know they've communicated. We'll have some strong competition there and we'll see where it goes. Feel really good about him."

That "strong competition" means the Steelers won't shy away from canvassing all options regarding the position. First among additional candidates is Mason Rudolph, who is set to test free agency when it begins March 13. There has been vocal support from both Rooney and Tomlin about the desire to re-sign Rudolph and open the quarterback competition with Pickett during training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. 

Rudolph took over the starting quarterback job for the final three games of the regular season -- winning all of them -- and led the Steelers into the playoffs. Pickett rehabbed through an ankle injury but took a back seat to Rudolph once he was deemed healthy enough to dress as Tomlin rode with the hot hand. Once again backing what Rooney and Tomlin have desired publicly for the position, Khan said that desire has also been expressed privately:

"I've been in communication with his representative," Khan said. "He knows we want him back."

But, Rudolph has the right to test his value in free agency and could ultimately sign somewhere else. Because of his performance in the Steelers' final four games, Rudolph's value has never been higher. 

"It's just how the process goes," Khan said. "I can't tell when the deal will get done, hopefully with us, but it's just the process and I understand it, but we'd like to have him back. ... I think every player owes it to themself. At the end of the day, it's still a few weeks until the start of the league year, but I know we'd like to have him back and I believe he wants to come back and compete. He likes it here and we've had a good experience with Mason."

Should Rudolph opt to sign elsewhere, that would force the Steelers to pivot to Plans B, C and D all the way through X, Y and Z with respect to the position. Pittsburgh's been a widely speculated suitor for any and all trade-candidate and free-agent quarterbacks. While the priority is for a competition in Latrobe to be between Pickett and Rudolph, Khan has to do his due diligence as general manager. That means the draft, free agency and trade market are all options for the Steelers at this juncture:

"I'm not going to go into details about the conversations that we've had (with respect to trades)," Khan said. "But I can tell you that I have an obligation to look at every avenue that's out there to try to make us a better football team."

Rumors have run rampant about the Steelers being interested in a number of quarterbacks, perhaps none more than Chicago's Justin Fields. The noise has been so overwhelming that Khan was even specifically asked if they're trading for Fields, which led to the previous response. Of course, Khan's responsibility is to exhaust all options, so even if conversations have actually taken place, it's just a GM doing his job the correct way.

"There's different avenues for us: The draft, free agency, the trade market. I would say every one of those avenues is an option for us," Khan said. "We're looking at everything. I have an obligation to this organization, to the players, to the front office, and to every member of the 'Steeler Nation' to look at every option and every way of trying to improve this team. We're going to do so."

Whatever option the Steelers go with, it'll carry a lot of weight. A decision on picking up Pickett's fifth-year option will have to be made next offseason. The fifth-year options for quarterbacks in the 2021 draft class are in the range of $22 million to $27 million guaranteed, so a ballpark projection for a fifth-year option owed to Pickett could be around that mark or greater than it, which is obviously a substantial financial commitment.

Regardless of what happens at quarterback, who will compete with Pickett or any trade that may or may not be made, a third is expected to enter at some point in this offseason.

"Right now we have one quarterback under contract," Khan said. "As you guys know we're a team that's always kept three and that's probably going to be the path we're going to take, so we have some work to do." 

While the Steelers likely won't be in range to draft USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye or LSU's Jayden Daniels, there are enticing options that are projected to be selected on Day 2 or Day 3. South Carolina's Spencer Rattler and Tulane's Michael Pratt stand out among these options if the Steelers are staying true to the notion of re-signing Rudolph to compete with Pickett.

Or, they could go the route of grabbing a veteran who is proven.

"We'll look at every option," Khan said. "Right now we have one guy under contract. It's Kenny Pickett. Feel really good about Kenny, but he knows and we all know that there's going to be competition in the room. We've always been a team that keeps three quarterbacks and I expect it to be the same this year. We'll look at all avenues."

The Steelers have other needs to address with the 20th pick. Khan's first draft as general manager in 2023 was acclaimed for aggressiveness blended with the obtaining of valued prospects, and he sees value in players at the Steelers' clear positions of need.

"I'll say that -- I don't want to get into specifics about one position, but -- this is a really good draft," Khan said. "The offensive linemen, the quarterbacks, the big guys both on the offensive side and the defensive side, the inside linebackers. There's some playmakers at the receiver position, some really good corners. It's a good draft and I'm excited. I've been fortunate. In my first draft, it was really talented, and in my second one, feel really good about the talent that's out there."

MORE FROM KHAN

• The NFL's salary cap was set at $255.4 million for each team in the 2024 season, which is a $30 million increase from 2023. 

This will offer every team more flexibility than originally anticipated. I asked Khan how that steep increase might affect the Steelers' plans in free agency, including with respect to the quarterback position:

"I wouldn't necessarily say just the quarterback position," he said. "Obviously that went up. That's great. But the one thing about it going up, it's relative. It applies to everyone. You guys have known me for a long time. If there's an opportunity to improve the roster we'll find ways to do things with the cap and flexibility. If we can make things better, we will."

• Before traveling to the NFL Combine, the Steelers released center Mason Cole, leaving a glaring hole at the position. The Steelers have in-house options for the position like Nate Herbig, James Daniels and Spencer Anderson, but Khan noted the Steelers are open to add a new piece.

"Right now we have Nate Herbig, and I always talk about offensive linemen that have position flexibility," Khan said. "That's always important to me. We have guys on the roster that are center capable. But that's not to say that we're not going to take a look in free agency, the trade market, and the draft process. There's some good players. It's just a good -- we feel good about the center draft and feel good about the center free agents."

• The Steelers have until May 2 to decide if they will exercise the fifth-year option on Najee Harris. Harris would be owed $6.79 million for the 2025 season, which would be an increase from the $2.44 million salary he will earn in 2024. Harris rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the third straight season but ceded more reps to Jaylen Warren in 2023.

"We have until the first week in May to make a decision," Khan said. "We have a new offensive coordinator so that's going to play into the decision-making process. We're having conversations with Arthur, it's been great. We've been engaging frequently and coach Tomlin and Arthur and I have been talking about the offense and what the vision is for it. Think very highly of Najee, and we'll make the decision before May 2."

• Report cards from the NFLPA were released Wednesday, and the Steelers ranked 28th overall out of 32 teams in the survey of anonymous players. While Tomlin received an "A" grade as a head coach, the Steelers received an "F" grade for their locker room, an "F-" for their treatment of families, and an "F" for Rooney's ownership.

"I obviously saw the headlines but I didn't really read the report in too much detail," Khan said. "We meet with our players every year and we're always looking to make changes and improve our facility or whatever it is if we deem it necessary. We by no means think our facility is holding us back from being successful. We meet with the players often. We have an open-door policy, they come in, they give us feedback all the time, and we do our best to implement what we feel makes sense."

COREY CRISAN / DKPS

Steelers general manager Omar Khan speaks at the podium at the Indiana Convention Center at the NFL Combine Thursday in Indianapolis.

• Below this photo are more notes from Khan's main availability on the dais at the Indiana Convention Center.

• Here is the full video of that press conference:

• I asked Khan what, in his opinion, made Smith the right hire at offensive coordinator:

"Ultimately (Tomlin) makes those decisions but when he came in for his interview I spent some time with him," Khan said. "His vision for the team, the offense was really encouraging from my standpoint. I'll let coach -- when you guys get him -- speak to his opinion, but I just enjoyed hearing his vision."

• Broderick Jones will be a left tackle ... "eventually."

"I've said this before. Versatility on the offensive line's important, and he proved that he could play right tackle," Khan said. "But he was drafted to play left tackle and eventually he will be a left tackle. When that is, time will tell, but he was drafted to be a left tackle."

• How does Khan interpret this draft?

"We evaluate and you can never have enough good players at a specific position. I was taught that a long time ago," Khan said. "That's the approach I take. This is a good draft. There's some good players out there. I'm excited about the options that we might have at 20 or if there's opportunity to move up or down, I think it's a good, talented draft."

• Diontae Johnson has one year left on his current contract. I asked Khan if there have been any discussions with his representation about a potential extension at this stage. He had to stop himself before directing his full answer:

"As of right now we're having conver- ... I'm not going to speak to specific negotiations for an individual player, but I have a lot of respect for Diontae," Khan said. "Usually, as you guys know, the extensions usually happen later on in the year."

• Let's talk punters! The Steelers released Pressley Harvin III and do not currently have a punter on their active roster. While there are a handful of free-agent options, a few enticing ones like Iowa's Tory Taylor, Texas Tech's Austin McNamara and BYU's Ryan Rehkow are available in this draft class.

"We spent some time with Tory at the Senior Bowl and had a really good experience," Khan said. "It's a good special teams group out there. As you know we don't have a punter on the roster so we're evaluating everything."