The Pittsburgh Steelers historically have never been a team to go out and make a big splash in free agency. It said a lot about Patrick Queen when General Manager Omar Khan inked arguably the best linebacker available to a three-year, $41 million contract in the early stages of the 2024 offseason. The hefty contract given to Queen showed how much the Steelers value middle linebackers, and how much they disliked playing against him twice a year. Khan's aggressiveness could make the Steelers' defense a serious threat come September.
Ever since Ryan Shazier had a career-ending injury in the 2017 season, the Steelers have struggled to find consistency at middle linebacker. They traded up to draft Devin Bush in the 2019 NFL Draft in an effort to solve the issue for the foreseeable future. As we now know, that was a mistake. Bush was never the same player after he tore his ACL early in his second season. Since then, there has been a revolving door of players at the position in Pittsburgh, including Robert Spillane, Kwon Alexander, Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts just to name a few.
All four of those guys have found success at different points in their careers, but none of them have been the true answer for the Black and Gold. Last season, Holcomb, Alexander and Roberts all dealt with injuries. The defensive play-caller duties (the player wearing the green dot on their helmet) was essentially given to the healthiest guy by the end of the season. At one point, the Steelers were getting ready to have safety Minkah Fitzpatrick wear the green dot.
Queen is coming off of a Second Team All-Pro season with the Baltimore Ravens. He's a linebacker that can play down-hill and cover slot receivers and tight ends. With the mix of his ability to be a true three-down linebacker and the amount of money the Steelers spent getting him to the Steel City, it was fair to assume all along Queen would wear the green dot. Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin confirmed those assumptions.
"He'll go in with the green dot and he'll be the guy that's gonna be out there on every snap. I think he does a unique thing because he can cover, he can blitz, he can do a lot of things and he's a really sharp football player."
Queen is joining a Steelers defense that's already full of stars like T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Alex Highsmith and Fitzpatrick. Queen will be in charge of a lot, but if he can stay healthy, the 2024 Steelers defense has a good chance to be the best we've seen in several years. Austin said he's "really happy we have him with us." Queen seems to feel the same way after he mentioned that he turned down more money in order to come to Pittsburgh.
Queen has immersed himself into the Steelers-Ravens rivalry from both sides now. He said prior that playing against Pittsburgh was "personal" due to Head Coach Mike Tomlin telling him he was (truly) a Raven. Now, Queen is playing for Tomlin and is on the other side of the fight.
Steelers' Queen Has The Numbers To Fulfill Green Dot Role
The Steelers' new green dot linebacker will have his hands full when the team plays against the Ravens twice in 2024. Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson aren't an easy task for any middle linebacker, but the Steelers are 7-1 in their last 8 games against Baltimore, so hopefully that success will continue.
Queen had 133 combined tackles last season, along with 3.5 sacks and an interception. It's hard to say if those numbers will go up or down in a new defense that doesn't include Roquan Smith, but similar numbers would make Steeler Nation very happy.
