{"id":174737,"date":"2026-03-25T15:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/174737\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T15:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:25:08","slug":"patrick-queen-player-history-situation-and-potential-trades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/174737\/","title":{"rendered":"Patrick Queen: Player History, Situation, and Potential Trades"},"content":{"rendered":"

This offseason has seen a lot of smoke about the Steelers\u2019 starting green-dot linebacker Patrick Queen. I have a theory about why. Tell me what you think.<\/p>\n

Time With The Ravens<\/p>\n

The Baltimore Ravens drafted Queen in 2020 as a 20 year old athletic wunderkind who was all promise and little accomplishment. The pick came with an obvious plan. Baltimore ran a 3-4 defense. Queen would be one of the two starters, learn from the 30 year old veteran L.J. Fort, and then take over in Year 2 as the lead dog. It didn\u2019t work out. The (very) young rookie flashed the advertised athletic brilliance, but regularly played from a step behind because he didn\u2019t read his keys quickly enough. Still, at the end of the Covid season he\u2019d racked up a highly respectable 106 tackles. \u201cHuh,\u201d said the fans. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize he played that well.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Year 2 Queen improved, and no one could question that, but not enough to keep the fans from muttering the dreaded B word. Only 98 tackles? \u201cRegression! See? I told you so.\u201d Never mind that 98 tackles is pretty darned good, especially since the team was asking him to do more thinking.<\/p>\n

Would he finally \u2018get it\u2019 in Year 3? The answer came back a resounding \u201cMaybe,\u201d followed by an absolute \u201cyes.\u201d The turning point came in the beginning of November, right after the team acquired the NFL\u2019s best linebacker, Roquan Smith. Smith reads offenses and manages defenses at almost the same level as Ray Lewis had back in the day. He came in, took charge, and suddenly Patrick Queen looked like a whole different player. He flashed around the field cleaning up anything that managed to elude Smith, while fitting seamlessly into the defensive tricks, traps, and overall scheme. 117 tackles.<\/p>\n

Year 4 looked even better. Queen continued to play Robin to Smith\u2019s Batman, and no one complained at all. 133 tackles and a pro bowl appearance. \u201cDon\u2019t forget that Robin is a superhero too!\u201d cawed the Ravens faithful.<\/p>\n

The Years In Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Baltimore declined Patrick Queen\u2019s 5th year option, and the Steelers snapped him up in free agency: 3 years, $41 Million, covering 2024-2026. Queen responded by looking exactly as he\u2019d done every year: just a smidgen better than he was the season before. But now the measuring stick had moved. Pittsburgh wanted its own Batman. Patrick Queen, however, looked like a sidekick struggling to stand on his own, and who found the footing more treacherous than expected. Still, the statistics were there and were real. 129 tackles is serious production. Everyone would have been delighted if Steelers Nation hadn\u2019t also expected Queen to come out from beneath Roquan Smith\u2019s shadow. Production, yes; emergence, no.<\/p>\n

2025 continued the career-long pattern. Patrick Queen (now 26 years old) got better, and everyone conceded that point, but he didn\u2019t improve fast enough to satisfy the fans. Yes, there were a few midseason games where he really did look like Batman himself. \u201cFinally!\u201d said the fans. But he dipped back and forth toward Robin as well. \u201cHow can anyone be Mr. Almost for six years in a bloody row? He\u2019s getting paid more than he produces!\u201d<\/p>\n

To be fair, Patrick Queen has as many supporters as detractors. It\u2019s just that every positive gets met with a slew of questions.<\/p>\n

Mike Tomlin thinks the world of him, and no one has ever said an ill word about him as a man. \u201cOh yeah? I hate Tomlin! And Queen\u2019s just another Mr. Mediocre!\u201d
\nAre you really complaining about 120 tackles? How many do you expect? \u201cLies, damned lies, and statistics! He could have had another 30 if not for all the \u2018almost\u2019 versions!\u201d
\nHis football IQ has improved every year. Why doubt that 2026 will see more of the genius and less of the merely good? \u201cI\u2019m sick of \u2018almost!\u2019 I\u2019ll bet Payton Wilson\u2019s growth has lagged because Queen can\u2019t lead well enough!\u201d {Huh?} \u201cHe owes us!\u201d {What?} \u201cI\u2019ll bet he was arguing with the coaches because he secretly wants to only be a .500 team!\u201d {Are you nuts?} \u201cAnd he is still getting paid more than he produces!\u201d {Okay, that one could be fair\u2026}<\/p>\n

The Current Situation<\/p>\n

The fan base hasn\u2019t been happy with Patrick Queen because his play hasn\u2019t made us stop worrying, and has fallen a little short of the level expected for two years running. Queen\u2019s 3-year salary equates to at least A- play, with the Steelers earning a profit if he produces more than that. Instead the team got a solid \u201cB\u201d in 2024, and a \u201cB+\u201d in 2025. Not bad, but not as good as expected.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re fair enough to concede the defensive line lapses, and how much that interferes with ILB play. And yes, Patrick Queen has been the very definition of an iron man on the field. He\u2019s available, and we know that matters. All in all he\u2019s been a nice player. But he hasn\u2019t been the star who could raise the team up when other parts faltered. Patrick Queen has, like his whole career, come within sight of lofty expectations, but never grasped hold of the proverbial ring; almost but not quite there.<\/p>\n

And now we\u2019re looking at the final season of that 3-year deal.<\/p>\n

To extend or not to extend? That is the question for Omar Khan. And he\u2019s being asked to figure it out in the midst of some major upheaval. Mike Tomlin has retired, which no doubt made Patrick Queen as unhappy as all the other veterans. Many of them came to Pittsburgh just to play for Coach T. Scattered interviews suggest that Queen was one of those. And now Coach Tomlin is gone.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve no doubt that Patrick Queen responded to the front office\u2019s approach by saying something like this: \u201cI\u2019m not saying I want out, but why the heck should I offer a home town or Coach T discount when Coach T was b*tch-and-moaned into retirement? I\u2019m willing to extend my contract now, but only for the same A- rate I took before. You can clearly see where my play is headed, so that\u2019s what I am worth. Either that, or we wait until I\u2019m a 2027 free agent and let the market decide. Or you can trade me. I wouldn\u2019t complain about that option either. Feel free to go shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n

That would have been my position as his agent. And it\u2019s perfectly reasonable imho. Teams don\u2019t pay bonuses when players perform better than they\u2019re paid for. They just pocket the profit. And they have no right to demand a discount when players fail to produce that profit. Today\u2019s contract is for next year\u2019s future performance, not what is in the past. And Patrick Queen is still a young man whose career is on the rise.<\/p>\n

That impasse would make sense of everything we\u2019ve seen in this offseason. Rumors about potential trades? Check. Why not explore the possibility? Signing Cole Holcomb to a two-year deal? Absolutely. He\u2019ll be a great backup if Queen stays, and a great veteran presence to lead the defense if Queen gets replaced with a rookie. Pay Patrick Queen\u2019s $2.5 Million roster bonus in early March? Sure thing. The team doesn\u2019t want him to leave. Omar Khan is merely exploring all the related markets to see what this player would receive on the open market, and what Pittsburgh might get back in a trade. Paying that bonus kept Queen here, and only sweetens his trade value.<\/p>\n

What Comes Next?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think Omar Khan wants to pay full retail price for Patrick Queen. Not with all the young talent coming up for their second contracts, and not with the moderate sting of Queen\u2019s \u201calmost\u201d success in the prior deal. Nor do I see any reason why Patrick Queen would accept less than his full retail value, especially after Tomlin\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n

That is a bad combination. So much so that I find it hard to see a way for Queen to be on the 2027 roster unless some drastic injury (or brilliant negotiating) intervenes.<\/p>\n

I.e., the team would be wise to target ILB in the draft no matter what, and ILB will turn into a primary \u201cwant\u201d if Patrick Queen gets traded.\u00a0 And it\u2019s pretty clear that a trade would make sense for everyone involved. But on what terms?<\/p>\n

The normal approach would be the player in exchange for draft compensation to replace him with someone younger. When the rumors about a potential deal with Dallas came out, speculation put Queen\u2019s value somewhere in the range of a Round 5 pick. I personally think he would be worth a 4th if Pittsburgh was looking to fill his position, so that is what I would normally demand in Omar Khan\u2019s shoes. Rumor had it that Dallas balked at more than a 6th. But here we get to the complication.<\/p>\n

What the devil would Pittsburgh do with another Round 5 selection in the 2026 draft? The Steelers already have twelve (12!) picks, and all of Steeler Nation expects some fancy trade activity to either move up in the draft or move some of the excess into 2027. So we\u2019re probably talking about something more like Pittsburgh demanding a next-year\u2019s Round 3, and other teams offering a 2027 Round 5. Fancy footwork indeed.<\/p>\n

What would you do in Omar Khan\u2019s shoes? My prescription would be some slightly more elaborate deal, such as Patrick Queen plus some of our excess 2026 picks in exchange for that 2027 3rd. I might even sweeten the exchange enough to gain a next-year\u2019s Round 2. Time to get busy\u2026<\/p>\n

Not A Conclusion<\/p>\n

A quick Internet search pulled up the following teams as likely buyers for a player such as Patrick Queen. What sort of deals do you think would work? Patrick Queen + what to trade up? Patrick Queen + what in a trade back? Patrick Queen + what in a straight trade to get that coveted Day 2 pick in 2027? Please drop your ideas in the comments. Here are those teams and their current draft picks:<\/p>\n

N.Y. Giants = Own picks 1:05, 2:37, 4:105, 5:145, 6:186, 6:192, and 6:193.
\nCincinnati Bengals = Own picks 1:10, 2:41, 3:72, 4:110, 6:189, 6:199, 7:221, and 7:226.
\nDallas Cowboys = Own picks 1:12, 1:20, 3:92, 4:112, 5:152, 5:177, 5:180, and 7:218
\nTampa Bay Buccaneers = Own picks 1:15, 2:46, 3:77, 4:116, 5:155, 6:195, and 7:229
\nCarolina Panthers = Own picks 1:19, 2:51, 3:83, 4:119, 5:158, 5:159, and 6:200.
\nBuffalo Bills = Own picks 1:26, 3:91, 4:126, 5:165, 5:168, 6:182, and 7:220.
\nDenver Broncos = No Round 1 or Round 3 picks. Own picks 2:62, 4:108, 4:111, 5:170, 7:246, 7:256, and 7:257.<\/p>\n

Here is my preferred draft value chart<\/a> to use as a guide. The Steelers selections are rimmed in blue.<\/p>\n

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