One of the big splash moves of the offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers was the addition of linebacker Patrick Queen from the Baltimore Ravens in free agency. The addition of Queen gives the Steelers as good of a playmaker as this team has had at inside linebacker since Ryan Shazier.
Our friends over at TD Wire ranked the 11 best inside linebackers in the NFL and Queen checked in at No. 11. We might be a little biased but this number feels a little low for how he played last season and we are banking on him moving way up this season in the Steelers defensive system.
Here’s what they had to say about Queen:
Patrick Queen was yet another Baltimore defender who put together a career year under 2023 defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, and the 2020 28th overall pick out of LSU cashed in big with a new three-year, $41 million contract with $13,840 million guaranteed to play for his former AFC North rival. The Steelers have been looking in vain for functionally athletic linebackers since Ryan Shazier’s retirement, and based on his 2023 tape, Queen might finally be That Guy.
Queen finished 2023 with 105 solo tackles, four sacks and nine tackles for loss. Queen and rookie Payton Wilson has a chance to be a special tandem on the inside.
