It's A Steelers 'Season Of Lies' Detailed Ramon Foster After Surprising Big Name Splash Moves

The Pittsburgh Steelers are having the kind of offseason that many fans have only dreamt about. Over the years, the Steelers have built a legacy of successful teams that are contenders nearly every season. The franchise has done so well in the modern era, that Head Coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in his 17 years at the helm. Even with all that success, the organization has not been known for its aggressive player acquisition. 

Under former General Manager Kevin Colbert, it felt like the Steelers often played it safe. While they did move up for players like Troy Polamalu and Devin Bush, those felt like calculated moves with minimal risk. What we are seeing with Colbert's replacement, Omar Khan, and his wheeling and dealing with contracts, is new. Recently, the team traded wide receiver Diontae Johnson and their 2024 seventh-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for cornerback Donte Jackson and a 2024 sixth-round pick. Initially, fans felt the Steelers were hasty in moving off of Johnson, who was a third-round pick, especially because of Jackson's expected cap hit of over $10 million. But fans shouldn't have worried. Khan already had a plan, and that plan cut the cap hit in more than half, saving the team about $5 million.

These aggressive moves haven't just been surprising to fans. Former Steelers offensive guard, Ramon Foster, spoke about it on his podcast, The Ramon Foster Show, with his co-host Dejan Kovacevic. On the show, which airs on DK Pittsburgh Sports, the 11-year veteran of the Steelers said that Khan, or as Foster likes to call him the "Khan Artist," and Tomlin really have been successful in pulling off moves that no one expected, especially this early in free agency. The moves that surprised Foster the most involved the quarterbacks, the signing of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, and the trade of Kenny Pickett. 

"They're making moves to put themselves in position. That's why with this draft season coming around, don't listen to a thing they say, believe what they do. This is the season of lies. Pittsburgh will probably be attached to so many people moving forward," said Foster.

Many fans feel that those "lies" include the way the organization dealt with Pickett. The frustration stems from the fact that the team said Pickett was their future and that there would be competition for the starting job. All of that seemed to change once the team had Wilson on board. 

Foster believes that the team was doing what it had to do to protect themselves and Pickett. After all, this is a business and the goal is to make money. At times, difficult decisions have to be made and sometimes that leaves people with hurt feelings. The Steelers always play their cards close to the vest and people take comments that are made and apply their own meanings.

"They've said a lot, and they've tried to protect Kenny. They've gone a lot of different ways in saying, 'He's our guy' because what you didn't want to do publicly is say, 'Yeah, it's going to be a competition.' You don't want to say publicly, 'Yeah it's going to be Kenny's job or Kenny's got to earn it.' You can't say those things because you devalue your guy. Russell Wilson went to Pittsburgh and didn't leave Pittsburgh when they had their 'franchise quarterback.' That wasn't your franchise quarterback, you were just trying to figure out how to make this happen," said Foster.

There was no chance, according to Foster, that Wilson was ever going to be a backup to Pickett. Pickett had not proven himself over the almost two seasons he was the starter. On top of that, Wilson is a strong personality, someone who has earned respect in the league. 

Shortly after Wilson was signed, news broke that Pickett was unhappy with the situation. He felt misled by the team and wanted out, wanted a shot somewhere else. He is now with the Philadelphia Eagles where he will back up Jalen Hurts.

Steelers Need To Round Out The Offense

The Steelers have done all of this work to improve their quarterback room, but there are still holes in the offense. The team needs to get a center since letting Mason Cole go after his shoddy 2023 performance. Center isn't the only offensive lineman the team needs however, they need to be looking for another tackle to complement Broderick Jones as well.

Since that aforementioned Johnson trade, the Steelers now also need another solid wide receiver to complement George Pickens. The team has been linked to several big names such as Brandon Aiyuk, Mike Williams, and Justin Jefferson. In previous years, those kinds of names would have been scoffed at, no one would believe that the team would go after someone like that. But now, it feels like anything is possible with Khan steering the ship.