The Pittsburgh Steelers made a significant splash last offseason in free agency. Spending big money on veteran linebacker Patrick Queen, they pried him away from the Baltimore Ravens in an effort to fix their issues at inside linebacker once and for all.
It just didn’t go the way many expected in Year 1 for Queen and the Steelers.
He wasn’t a bust by any stretch of the imagination, but he wasn’t the impact player the Steelers believed they were getting. Now, entering Year 2 with the Steelers while wearing the green dot and being the hub of communication for the defense, things are expected to be better for Queen and Pittsburgh.
But for Pro Football Focus, Queen remains outside of the top 15 at the inside linebacker position in its latest rankings ahead of the 2025 season. Queen finds himself in Tier 4 among names like Minnesota’s Blake Cashman, Kansas City’s Nick Bolton, Washington’s Frankie Luvu, free agent C.J. Mosley, and more.
“After two excellent seasons in Baltimore, Queen wasn’t as strong in his first trip out in Pittsburgh,” PFF’s Mason Cameron writes. “His 56.7 PFF overall grade fell well short of the 70.0-plus marks he posted in the two seasons prior. Now more acclimated to the Steelers, Queen may return to his baseline, which is 64.0-plus PFF grades in run defense, coverage and pass rushing.”
There was quite a bit of excitement and anticipation regarding the signing of Queen after the Steelers made a major splash and stole an All-Pro player from a division rival. But early returns were frustrating as Queen had a roller-coaster season.
Queen finished with a team-best 129 tackles, six tackles for loss, seven pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and one sack. But he left quite a bit to be desired overall. He played 1,164 snaps on the season and graded out at a 56.8 overall from PFF.
Coverage was an issue, too, particularly in man, as he was charged with 67 receptions allowed on 81 targets for 728 yards and a touchdown. One of the big selling points with Queen was his work in coverage, but time and time again, teams went after him in the middle of the field and had a lot of success.
It wasn’t just issues in coverage, either. Queen was a mess in the tackling department, which wasn’t anything new from his time in Baltimore.
According to our charting, Queen missed 22 tackles last season, the most on the team, and had a 13.7% missed-tackles rate. Queen did make some plays though, including in a Week 11 win over the Ravens at Acrisure Stadium. In his first matchup with his old team, he stripped the ball from TE Isaiah Likely deep in the Ravens’ own end.
The veteran linebacker has to be better in Year 2 in Pittsburgh though, considering his price tag and the expectations placed on him. With Payton Wilson set to slot in next to him in Year 2, and veterans Cole Holcomb and Malik Harrison as backups, Queen has the pieces around him to succeed, especially Wilson, who can take some coverage responsibilities off his plate.
Quite a bit of attention will be paid to Queen in Year 2 in Pittsburgh. Hopefully he’s able to deliver on expectations.
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