![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2235391406-2.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen addressed the possibility of signing an extension this summer.<\/p>\n
Since joining the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>, Patrick Queen<\/a> just hasn\u2019t lived up to the hype. Entering his third season with the organization, the linebacker\u2019s decline is starting to become more apparent to those around the NFL<\/a>.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler<\/a> recently surveyed league executives, coaches and scouts to help rank the league\u2019s top 10 off-ball linebackers. Unfortunately for Queen, he did not make this year\u2019s list.<\/p>\n Patrick Queen Earns Honorable Mention Among Top 10 LBs<\/p>\n Queen was left off a list that included AFC North rivals Roquan Smith<\/a> of the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> (No. 2) and Carson Schwesinger<\/a> of the Cleveland Browns<\/a> (No. 3). However, he did receive enough votes to land on Fowler\u2019s honorable mention list.<\/p>\n Still, one evaluator offered a clear explanation for why Queen was left outside the top 10.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is very good when he turns it on and uses his speed and strength. His play is too inconsistent for my taste,\u201d one AFC personnel evaluator told Fowler.<\/p>\n Queen arrived in Pittsburgh with high expectations following his first four seasons in Baltimore. His 2023 campaign, the final year of his rookie contract with the Ravens, helped earn him a three-year, $41 million deal with the Steelers.<\/p>\n That season, Queen earned his first Pro Bowl selection while recording one interception, six pass deflections, one forced fumble, 3.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss.<\/p>\n Since arriving in Pittsburgh, however, he has totaled 11 pass deflections, three forced fumbles, two sacks and 14 tackles for loss.<\/p>\n The criticism hasn\u2019t stopped there, though.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s Mike Clay recently identified off-ball linebacker as Pittsburgh\u2019s biggest weakness<\/a> entering the 2026 season, specifically pointing to Queen and Payton Wilson<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cQueen remained an every-down player last season but slipped to 61st among 67 qualified off-ball linebackers in PFF grade (he ranked 54th among 69 qualified in 2024),\u201d Clay wrote.<\/p>\n What\u2019s Patrick Queen\u2019s Future With Steelers Look Like?<\/p>\n Recently, Queen was also listed among the top five potential cut candidates to watch by Bleacher Report\u2019s Alex Kay<\/a>.<\/p>\n Beyond the inconsistency concerns, Kay believes moving on from Queen could make financial sense for the Steelers.<\/p>\n \u201cReleasing Queen would save Pittsburgh nearly $11 million against the cap, money that it could allocate toward finding a cheaper replacement and still have cash available to spend elsewhere,\u201d Kay wrote.<\/p>\n Considering all of those factors, it\u2019s somewhat surprising Queen still received enough support to earn honorable mention recognition from Fowler\u2019s panel.<\/p>\n The prevailing narrative surrounding Queen is that he hasn\u2019t been the same player he was in Baltimore, nor the player many expected him to become in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n Could that change in 2026? Absolutely.<\/p>\n The Steelers will have a new defensive coordinator in Patrick Graham as part of Mike McCarthy\u2019s coaching staff. Queen spent his first two seasons in Pittsburgh playing under Teryl Austin, who had overseen the Steelers\u2019 defense since 2022.<\/p>\n It goes without saying that Queen has plenty to prove in 2026. A new coaching staff could be exactly what he needs to get his career back on track.<\/p>\n If not, the questions surrounding his future in Pittsburgh are only going to get louder.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tShane Shoemaker<\/a> Shane Shoemaker is a sports journalist covering college football and the NFL for Heavy.com. His work has also appeared in The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, USA TODAY, and ClutchPoints, along with high school sports coverage for the Marion Tribune. More about Shane Shoemaker<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen addressed the possibility of signing an extension this summer. Since joining the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-296267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}