New Steelers LB Patrick Queen is Looking to Lead By Example
Newly signed linebacker Patrick Queen is looking to let his play do the talking and lead by example in 2024.
Despite adding to their linebacker room last offseason, the Steelers dipped back into the position pool this offseason and snagged Patrick Queen off of their divisional rivals, the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers are going to pair Queen with last year’s big addition, Elandon Roberts.
The signing of Queen accomplished two objectives. First, it made the Ravens worse as they lost one of their best defensive players. Secondly, it filled an area of need on the Steelers defense.
Since coming over to the Steelers, Queen has been getting acclimated to his new team and said that being in Pittsburgh is everything that he imagined it would be.
“It’s fun, it is everything that you would expect coming over to an organization like this,” Queen told reporters in May. “Right now we are just building the foundation of everything and trying to get the feel for everybody, trying to get the feel of the coaches, how things are ran here. Right now it is going good.”
Queen’s role in building that foundation is to be exactly what the Steelers signed him to be which is himself. With Roberts on the roster to be the vocal leader, Queen is allowed to lead by example.
“Just coming in here and doing what I am supposed to do,” Queen said about his role. “Help lead, help this team win. Just coming in here doing my job, doing it at a high level. That is the reason that they brought me in here.”
While Roberts played above expectations a season ago, their other free agent addition in 2023, Cole Holcomb, went out with a season-ending injury, something he is still dealing with. While the inside linebacker corp is in good shape without Holcomb, once he returns, it will be one of the team’s deepest units.
“We great, we great,” Queen said about the linebacker room. “We got the guys to do it, especially when Cole (Holcomb) comes back, we are going to be clicking on all cylinders. I can’t wait to see it.”
Making the transition from being a Raven to becoming a Steelers is a rare transformation for a player to make. The last notable player to come to Pittsburgh via Baltimore was Chris Wormley in 2020. The one thing to surprise Queen since his arrival was the warm welcome that he received from his new teammates.
“When you are on the opposite [side] of the rivalry, you kind of don’t know everybody but you know the team,” Queen said. “I did expect some people to have some attitudes, I did expect some people to be a little rough but everybody is cool. … Everybody is cool and I couldn’t ask to be in a better place.”
Queen will be apart of the starting inside linebacker duo with Roberts. With rookie Payton Wilson behind them, and Holcomb returning at some point, the Steelers inside linebacker room is unusually deep. While Roberts will be the vocal leader of the room, Queen will wear the green dot on defense and hopes to lead the unit with his play.
6 • Patrick Queen, Inside Linebacker, LSU
6-foot-0, 232 pounds, 24 years old, 5th Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Patrick Queen to a three-year contract on March 12, 2024. Queen was an unrestricted free agent after his rookie contract with the Ravens expired.
Last Season:Â In his final season as a Raven, Patrick Queen played in and started all 17 games at linebacker. He totaled a career-high 133 combined tackles in addition to 3.5 sacks, one forced fumbled and one interception on a career-high 1,121 defensive snaps.
Queen earned a Pro Bowl nomination and second-team All-Pro honors following the season.
Career:Â The Ravens drafted Patrick Queen with the 28th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. During his rookie season, Queen started all 16 games that he played in and recorded 106 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. He was named to the PWFA All-Rookie Team following the season.
Over the following three seasons, Queen would play in and start every game that the Ravens played. He logged three 100-tackle seasons and is the only player in the league with at least 450 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 15 passes defensed, 10.0 sacks, six fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles and four interceptions since he entered the league in 2020.
In total, Queen has played in and started 67 games over his four years in Baltimore. To this point, he has logged 454 combined tackles, 13.5 sacks and four interceptions.
| Year | GP | GS | Tackles | Sacks | FFs | INTs | DEF Snaps | PFF Grade |
| 2020 | 16 | 16 | 106 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 858 | 29.7 |
| 2021 | 17 | 17 | 98 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 826 | 43.5 |
| 2022 | 17 | 17 | 117 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1,026 | 70.0 |
| 2023 | 17 | 17 | 133 | 3.5 | 1 | 1 | 1,121 | 73.1 |
College:Â Patrick Queen committed to Louisiana State University after completing his high school career at Livonia High School in Louisiana. As a true freshman, Queen appeared in 12 games and totaled six combined tackles.
In his second season as a Tiger, Queen played in all 13 games and started four of the last five games of the season. He finished the season with 40 total tackles five tackles for loss and one sack.
Queen stepped into a full-time starting role for the famous 2019 Nation Champion LSU team. In 15 total appearances, Queen totaled 85 tackles, three sacks, three defended passes and one interception. He was named as the Defensive MVP of the National Championship victory against Clemson.
Over his three seasons as a Tiger, Queen played in 40 games and started 16 of them. He racked up 131 combined tackles, four sacks and one interception.
| Year | GP | GS | Tackles | Sacks | FFs | INTs | PDs |
| 2017 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 13 | 4 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 15 | 12 | 85 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Salary cap and future:Â Patrick Queen agreed to a three-year, $41 million contract with the Steelers. In his first year on the team, Queen will cost $6.11 million against the team’s cap space. Queen’s contract will run through the end of the 2026 season.
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