Steelers' Omar Khan Gets Big Wake-Up Call After Unexpected Wide Receiver Injury

The majority of the fan base for the Pittsburgh Steelers has nothing bad to say about General Manager Omar Khan since he took over the head of the front office role in May of 2022. He has been aggressive and unpredictable, which has been a breath of fresh air. At the same time, however, Khan has been patient and seems to lurk in the background until something truly makes sense for the organization. For the first time, this may be coming back to bite the franchise. An injury to Roman Wilson at practice on Tuesday highlighted how quickly the team's wide receivers' room can get even thinner.

It appears as if Wilson will make a full recovery prior to the regular season beginning, but he was expected to be one of the more formidable pass-catchers on the roster once he gets his feet wet at the professional level. Any chances of that happening in training camp and preseason contests seem to have been thrown out the window after his ankle injury.

This should immediately send a message to Khan and the entire front office that there is no longer time to wait in terms of trading for an elite wide receiver that could be available. Injuries happen all the time in the NFL and the Steelers' brass knows this, but if they are being honest with themselves, the team is one unfortunate play away from losing George Pickens to something similar, or worse.

In a perfect world, all teams throughout the league would love not to suffer a single injury through training camp, preseason and the regular season. That's simply not the reality and with an already light receiving core, Pittsburgh saw it get even less dangerous with the injury to Wilson, who was playing quite well throughout the first four and a half days of camp.

There is no longer time to wait for Khan. He needs to get on the phones and make a move that will solidify the Steelers' receiving options. If another wideout were to go down in camp, it only gives all potential trade partners more leverage. Pittsburgh might not admit that desperation is setting in if that were to happen, but the front office shouldn't want to find out, either.

Wilson wasn't currently expected to be the second guy opposite of Pickens to begin the year, but his lack of reps throughout August will pave the way for Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III. Both have potential to step up and be an option in the passing game, but neither will take a double-team away from Pickens, which could end up being a problem for the offense.

Khan got a little glimpse of reality when Wilson went down during Tuesday's seven shots drill. The fortunate part about it is that his ankle injury doesn't seem to be too serious, but weeks worth of repetitions are important for rookies. Now, the Steelers' future starter won't get those chances and the depth has become even thinner at a position that could prevent the offensive unit from breaking out.

Steelers Will Have To Answer To Fan Base If Receiving Game Struggles

Pittsburgh has plenty of wide receiver three, four and five options, but no one really sticks out as a legitimate two. Some could argue that Pickens does, and he isn't a solidified one, but overall, there is a gap between him and the rest. The clock is ticking for Khan to make a significant deal and it could be looked at as rather foolish to think it isn't necessary. The Wilson injury should be a big-time wake-up call that has the franchise pounding the office looking to make a deal.

Do you think that the Steelers will finally trade for a wide receiver after the Wilson injury? Let us know in the comments below!

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