Trade buzz heated up late on the first day of the legal tampering period for Pittsburgh Steelers ILB Patrick Queen. Now it seems like things are cooling down, at least when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys’ interest in him.
“Seems like the Patrick Queen idea may have hit a snag,” NFL Network’s Jane Slater wrote on X. “Was told no updates as of this hour and on him specifically ‘probably not going there.'”
Seems like the Patrick Queen idea may have hit a snag.
Was told no updates as of this hour and on him specifically “probably not going there” pic.twitter.com/3mmV8IQNrq
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) March 10, 2026
What the snag was is currently unknown. This doesn’t necessarily mean trade talks have ended on Queen altogether. A report from Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris last night indicated multiple teams were in the mix. Perhaps the snag is that one of the other teams offered more than the Cowboys were willing to give up.
Harris specifically cited the Eagles as one of those teams. The Eagles just lost Nakobe Dean to the Raiders, so an aggressive move might make sense.
Queen is entering the final year of his three-year contract signed in the 2024 offseason. He has been the quarterback of Pittsburgh’s defense for the last two seasons with the green dot on his helmet to field calls from the sideline. At just 26 years old, he already has six years of NFL starting experience. He’s also been an ironman with zero missed games.
It hasn’t been perfect in Pittsburgh with communication issues plagueing the team throughout his tenure. That can’t all be pinned on him, but he at least shares in the blame as the green dot player. His biggest issue has been missed tackles with PFF dinging him for 53 over the last two seasons, including an unacceptable 20.4 percent missed tackle rate in 2025.
Still a young player with plenty of starting and green dot experience on a relatively inexpensive 2026 salary is an attractive trade piece for teams in need at the position. If Pittsburgh trades him, they will have plenty of work to do to improve the room, and may look to the draft to do so.
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