It\u2019s not even two full years into Patrick Queen\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
During Sunday\u2019s loss to the Buffalo Bills, Essex vented out his feelings<\/a> about Queen.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s hurt, but I\u2019m over the Patrick Queen experiment,\u201d Essex tweeted. \u201cSimply put, he\u2019s not a Steelers LB. He\u2019s not Farrior. He\u2019s not Timmons. He\u2019s not Shazier. He doesn\u2019t play with that disposition. We missed on that signing. And for our main rival to let him leave, shoulda been a sign.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s hurt, but I\u2019m over the Patrick Queen experiment. Simply put, he\u2019s not a Steelers LB. He\u2019s not Farrior. He\u2019s not Timmons. He\u2019s not Shazier. He doesn\u2019t play with that disposition. We missed on that signing. And for our main rival to let him leave, shoulda been a sign.<\/p>\n \u2014 Trai Essex (@TraiDay79) November 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It was one of two major statements Essex made during the game. He also suggested Mike Tomlin could and should be fired<\/a> after the season.<\/p>\n Baltimore showed no hesitation letting Queen defect to the Ravens\u2019 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.<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019s $150 million contract tops it but that came via trade).<\/p>\n Since then, Queen\u2019s play has been inconsistent at best and poor at worst. Despite being a great athlete, he\u2019s struggled in coverage and Payton Wilson is considered the team\u2019s best coverage linebacker. As a tackler, Queen has missed far too many tackles. Entering Sunday\u2019s game, we charted him for 19 in total<\/a> and a near 20-percent missed tackle rate. The big plays Pittsburgh hoped to get with him also haven\u2019t been there. In 29 starts, Queen has just 11 tackles for loss, two sacks and no interceptions.<\/p>\n Queen failed to finish the game due to a bruised hip.<\/a> His status for next Sunday\u2019s game against his former team the Ravens is unclear, though it seems he\u2019ll have at least a chance to play.<\/p>\n Signed through 2026, the Steelers could cut Queen this offseason. Such a move would create less than $4 million in dead money<\/a> while freeing up over $13 million in salary cap space before displacement. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n