Translating Omar Khan’s quotes from radio interview

To wrap up minicamp Thursday, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan conducted an interview on 93.7 The Fan.

At times he said a lot without saying very much. Other times he spoke a lot of words without saying anything of substance at all.

In other words, Kevin Colbert taught him well.

Before we head to the weekend at “Breakfast With Benz,” we’ll try to parse through the meaningful answers, non-answers, misdirects and obfuscations from Khan’s interview.

On the perceived need to acquire another starting-capable wide receiver: “I was just talking to Coach (Mike Tomlin) and a couple of the other guys in my department, and we were saying how good we felt about that room. Just the growth from when the offseason program started to where we are now— even the improvements from the start of OTAs to now. … I can just tell you it’s trending really positively. It was awesome.”

Translation: “I know these guys are a bunch of nobodies just like you guys do, but at least they might be better than I thought. So, I’m going to pump their tires and make them sound better than what they are in case we can’t acquire anyone better between now and the start of the season.”

It’s important to point out that, later on in the interview with hosts Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller, Khan did leave the door open to landing another wide receiver, noting that the cap space the team created by restructuring Alex Highsmith’s contract before the draft hasn’t been allocated elsewhere as of yet.

“It just gave us an opportunity to be in position in case there’s an opportunity to upgrade the club. It’s worth us looking at — we wanted to be in position to do so if that came about. Obviously, it did not come about. But we just wanted to be prepared.”

Translation: “If the Niners want to trade Brandon Aiyuk or the Broncos want to trade Courtland Sutton, we may still be able to swing it.”

On withholding Najee Harris’ fifth-year option: “It was a business decision that we had to make by May 2. But Najee is awesome to have around here. (We) love Najee as a player and a person. Just because we didn’t pick (the option) up, it doesn’t exclude us from doing something with Najee for the long term.”

Translation: “If he plays well this year and isn’t too beat up by the end of the season, we’ll try to sign him for a few years at an average annual cap hit less than the $6.7 million he would’ve gotten on the option.”

Khan continued: “I’d love to say that Najee (is going to be) here for a long career in Pittsburgh. He really represents us well on the field and off the field. But it was just one of those things that we had to make a decision on, and we just felt it was the right decision for everyone. But, I love Najee and would love to have him here long term.”

Translation: “If we can get him cheap enough, we’ll keep him. If not, eh, you can find a running back just about anywhere.”

On Cam Heyward’s contractual situation: “Cam is awesome. Not only (as a) player. You’ve got a Hall of Fame resume, but he’s got a Hall of Fame personality too. He’s great to have around. He’s great for those young guys, great for the organization, great for the community. Anytime you see Cam in here and see that smile, whether it’s on the field or in the building in the hallway, it’s just, it’s awesome to see around.”

Translation: “You heard what I said about Najee, right? Yeah. Just run that back.”

Is Troy Fautanu going to be a right tackle for the Steelers: “I would say that’s true.”

Translation: “Thank you for not following up and asking me if that’s going to happen to start the season.”

What is Justin Fields’ “role with the team going into the season”?: “Besides being a kick returner?”

OK, Omar. Kudos. That was quick. That was a good one.

“He is a quarterback for us, primarily. Justin is exciting to have. If you would have told me that we’d be sitting here with Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen, even five months ago, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Khan added.

Wait a minute. Time out, Omar. You got us on the kick-returner thing. But then you sneak in a “primarily” after saying he’s a quarterback?

“Primarily,” huh? Maybe that means there is a possibility for a specialized running/pass-catching role like Taysom Hill or Kordell Stewart in Field’s future after all.

But not kick returner. Fair enough.