It’s not even two full years into Patrick Queen’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers and former players are calling for the team to move on. With Queen struggling to tackle and make splash plays, former offensive linemen Trai Essex says the team should move on.

During Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, Essex vented out his feelings about Queen.

“He’s hurt, but I’m over the Patrick Queen experiment,” Essex tweeted. “Simply put, he’s not a Steelers LB. He’s not Farrior. He’s not Timmons. He’s not Shazier. He doesn’t play with that disposition. We missed on that signing. And for our main rival to let him leave, shoulda been a sign.”

He’s hurt, but I’m over the Patrick Queen experiment. Simply put, he’s not a Steelers LB. He’s not Farrior. He’s not Timmons. He’s not Shazier. He doesn’t play with that disposition. We missed on that signing. And for our main rival to let him leave, shoulda been a sign.

— Trai Essex (@TraiDay79) November 30, 2025

It was one of two major statements Essex made during the game. He also suggested Mike Tomlin could and should be fired after the season.

Baltimore showed no hesitation letting Queen defect to the Ravens’ biggest rival. The team locked up Roquan Smith instead while never offering Queen a contract, a point Queen did not forget after signing with Pittsburgh.

The Steelers inked Queen to a three-year, $41 million deal. While it came on relatively team friendly terms from a guaranteed money standpoint, it was and remains the highest outside free agent signing the team has ever made (DK Metcalf’s $150 million contract tops it but that came via trade).

Since then, Queen’s play has been inconsistent at best and poor at worst. Despite being a great athlete, he’s struggled in coverage and Payton Wilson is considered the team’s best coverage linebacker. As a tackler, Queen has missed far too many tackles. Entering Sunday’s game, we charted him for 19 in total and a near 20-percent missed tackle rate. The big plays Pittsburgh hoped to get with him also haven’t been there. In 29 starts, Queen has just 11 tackles for loss, two sacks and no interceptions.

Queen failed to finish the game due to a bruised hip. His status for next Sunday’s game against his former team the Ravens is unclear, though it seems he’ll have at least a chance to play.

Signed through 2026, the Steelers could cut Queen this offseason. Such a move would create less than $4 million in dead money while freeing up over $13 million in salary cap space before displacement. It’s not clear if Pittsburgh will go in that direction. There is no obvious in-house replacement, and Queen has been trusted to wear the green dot and serve as central communicator, an area he seems to have done a better job with in his second season. Still, Queen has fallen short of lofty expectations. He, like many others on the team, might be playing for a job the rest of the year.