Editor’s note: From now until reporting day to training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2026 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with two players each day between June 13 and July 28. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
LB PATRICK QUEEN
Experience/age: seventh season, 26 (27 on August 13)
Contract status: $17.2 million cap hit in 2026, scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027
The past: Queen started all 17 games but had an inconsistent second season with the Steelers. He made 120 tackles including eight tackles for loss and one sack. But Queen also led all linebackers league-wide with 31 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, which gave him some of the lowest grades of his career. His 21.1% missed-tackle rate was a career worst. A year earlier, his rate was 13.7% in his first season with the Steelers.
PFF analytics graded him 45th out of 50 linebackers who played at least 700 snaps last season. He received an overall rating of 44 on a 100-point scale. PFF graded him 50th as a tackler, 39th as a run defender and 48th in pass coverage. Still, Queen led the Steelers’ defense in snaps last season with 1,112 and ranked second on the team in tackles. Only Payton Wilson (126) had more.
Patrick Queen on entering the final season of his contract and if he’s discussed an extension with the Steelers pic.twitter.com/zNWXwCcxZY
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 28, 2026
2026 outlook: Queen is entering the final year of the three-year, $41 million contract that lured him to Pittsburgh, meaning his future beyond this season is in question. He said there were “talks here and there” but no extension yet. In fact, speculation over the offseason had him as a potential salary cap casualty, but the veteran didn’t go anywhere.
The 6-foot, 232-pounder returns to an inside linebacker room that’s largely unchanged from a year ago. Queen, Payton Wilson, Cole Holcomb, Malik Harrison and Carson Bruener remain as a group after being the top five players on the depth chart last season. Even position coach Scott McCurley was brought back.
A second-team All-Pro with the Ravens, Queen has topped 100 tackles in five of six seasons. He made 129 tackles in 2024 after joining the Steelers. One of his top attributes is his durability. The former first-round draft pick hasn’t missed a game in his NFL career.