ORLANDO, Fla. -- Omar Khan sat on a sectional couch in the glow of a sunny late March afternoon and answered reporters' questions. The Pittsburgh Steelers general manager appeared relaxed. Four weeks earlier in Indianapolis, standing before the same group of reporters, Khan had seemed tense, reserved.
It was Feb. 29 when Khan was asked by the media assembled for the NFL combine about his team's 2024 quarterback options. At that moment, Kenny Pickett was the only quarterback on the Steelers' roster. Khan expressed "full faith" in the 2022 first-round pick.
Twenty-seven days later, as Khan sat on a terrace at the Ritz-Carlton for the league's annual meetings, Pickett was gone, traded to Philadelphia where he'll serve as the backup.