Steelers' Omar Khan Uncovers The Truth About Pittsburgh Wanting To Retain Certain Free Agents In 2026

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of work to do before the free agency period kicks off on March 11th. With how many players are slated to become free agents, the Steelers will need to be selective on which pending players the team will want to bring back. There are plenty that will end up leaving the team to test the market, but there are guys that the Steelers will undoubtedly prioritize over others, and the work to keep them in Pittsburgh has already begun.

The free agents that the Steelers want to keep will need to feel like they'll be contributors to the team's future if they want to be persuaded to stay with the team. Ensuring this is a priority right before free agency has kicked off, and with luck, the efforts put forth to keep the valuable players on the team will succeed.

Steelers General Manager Omar Khan recently sat down with Steelers Nation Radio at the 2026 NFL Combine to discuss the team's plans for the future, along with how well Khan has been able to work with new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy. As they talked about pieces of the plans the Steelers have for both free agency and the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, Khan uncovered the truth about the efforts the Steelers have undertaken to keep their desired players.

"We've already been in contact with some of our free agents and players that we want to retain," Khan said. "I'd like to tell you that it gets done sooner or later, but history has told me that those things usually happen closer to the free agent date, either right before or right after. I go into it like everybody else, saying, 'Why is this so hard? We want you back, and why can't we just get it done?' And these things usually don't go that way."

It's a great sign to see that Khan has already begun to do his due diligence on bringing back some key players for the Steelers. The team has plenty of players that had a great 2025 season that will be free agents, and the team has taken the first step towards retaining them. Of course, there will be other organizations that will try to acquire some of these players by offering them more money, and other players may not want to remain in Pittsburgh altogether. 

Khan has already made some intriguing comments about some of the current free agents the Steelers have, and his remarks about being in contact with them speak volumes. Khan seems to have his own preferences on who he'd like to retain, and his comments also seem to suggest that he wishes he could get the process of re-signing players done sooner rather than later. 

Khan also seems to indicate that the players that re-sign with the team will be retained closer to the official date of free agency, compared to earlier or later. Nonetheless, the plans have been made to keep pending free agents, and hopefully, Khan and the rest of the front office will prioritize the right ones.

Steelers' Omar Khan Needs To Prioritize Return Of Key Free Agents On Offense

A portion of the players who will end up becoming free agents are on the offensive side of the ball for Pittsburgh. With a few exceptions, these are the players that Khan should prioritize re-signing in free agency. If he chooses not to sign one of those key players, another team certainly will, and that team will likely be the one to see the benefits.

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