Linebacker Patrick Queen has been a bit of a disappointment in his first two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though he’s played nearly every snap for the Steelers since signing a three-year deal in free agency to leave the Baltimore Ravens, his performance hasn’t matched his talent level.

He’s missed a lot of tackles in his two seasons with the Steelers, and he’s been critical of the defensive scheme at times under former coordinator Teryl Austin.

He’s doubling down on that criticism of the previous scheme and what it asked of him, too. Appearing on the Football Frame of Mind podcast, Queen detailed how difficult it was to play in Pittsburgh’s scheme, compared to how it was with Baltimore where he earned a second-team All-Pro honor.

“I done been in two different defenses. Baltimore was just like, ‘That’s y’all position. Y’all do what y’all gotta do. Everybody help each other.’ With Pittsburgh’s, ‘Y’all let the d-line do what they want, y’all protect them. Then the safeties, y’all protect them.’ And it’s like, it’s kind of hard to play like that,” Queen said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “It was just eye opening to be able to see the differences and stuff. But that linebacker position, if it’s like that in some other places, that stuff’s tough. I ain’t lying.

“You gotta do every single thing. You gotta be able to play the run, play the pass no matter what receiver, tight end they got, running back, offensive linemen. You gotta know every single route combination. You gotta team run all the run plays. You gotta be able to make the calls line up, get everybody set, get everybody lined up.”

Having the green dot in Pittsburgh has been the biggest issue for Queen. When he struggled early in Baltimore coming out of LSU, it was because was wearing the green dot and felt overwhelmed with the communication aspect at times. Once the Ravens traded for Roquan Smith, Queen didn’t have to wear the green dot, allowing him to play fast and free and just focus on linebacker.

That led to his breakout season and his All-Pro recognition.

The Steelers knew this about Queen, but they still gave him the green dot responsibilities. In his first year with Pittsburgh, communication was a mess, but he did improve in Year 2.

Still, it wasn’t up to the standard he holds himself too, and it certainly wasn’t good enough for a demanding fan base that has seen a rich history of inside linebacker play. That said, many agreed with Queen when he made some pointed comments about the defensive scheme late in the year as Pittsburgh’s high-priced defense struggled.

Fortunately for Queen, some things will change in 2026 as Teryl Austin’s contract wasn’t renewed following Mike Tomlin’s resignation. Now, Patrick Graham steps into the mix and is known as a good Xs and Os coach, one who gets the most out of his talent defensively.

If Queen can elevate his game in a better scheme, Pittsburgh could really take off. We’ll see if Graham gives the green dot to someone like Payton Wilson to take some of that burden off Queen, too.