Since the start of free agency, there have been rumors circulating that the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles have interest in a trade for Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen.
Both Nick Harris of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram and Jane Slater of NFL Network reported that there was at least some interest from the Cowboys in Queen, and Harris mentioned the Eagles as a team that has called Pittsburgh, too.
That said, there didn't appear to be anything imminent in regard to an actual trade going down, and if a Steelers beat writer is correct, Queen probably isn't going anywhere.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac, the Steelers are not down on Queen the way some fans are and he doesn't think Pittsburgh will trade its starting linebacker.
“I don’t think they should bite on any of those offers," Dulac said. I don’t quite get the fans’ discontent with Queen. It is not shared by the Steelers. Plus, teams get offers all the time. The Steelers got them last year about T.J. Watt."
“Here’s what I make of [the rumors] – they’re rumors,” he added.
It's not hard to see why the Cowboys and Eagles have interest in Queen.
The Cowboys entered the offseason with a need at linebacker. After cutting Logan Wilson, Dallas doesn't have a sure starter next to DeMarvion Overshown, who is a question mark himself thanks to his injury history.
In Philly, the Eagles lost Nakobe Dean to the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency, which leaves their defense with a void at linebacker.
While Queen hasn't exactly lived up to his contract, he's still a good player and an important piece of the Steelers' defense.
It wouldn't make much sense to trade him because of the void such a decision would leave in the middle of Pittsburgh's unit.
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