Patrick Queen spent a lot of time last spring waiting for the Baltimore Ravens to offer him a contract before he hit free agency, but that offer never came. It hurt him more than he expected.
“I wasn’t wanted back,” Queen said bluntly on Wednesday, eight months after leaving Baltimore for a fresh start with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I didn’t get an offer back. But you know, it’s definitely kind of upsetting.”
It wasn’t until the summer, as he began settling into Pittsburgh and building connections with his new teammates, that Queen began to accept what had happened.
However, he admitted that this Sunday’s game against the Ravens would bring up some emotions, as it’s a matchup with his former team, and first place in the AFC North is on the line.
“I will have feelings, obviously anybody in my position would this week,” Queen said.
But despite any lingering feelings, Queen is focused on doing his job. The Steelers made a big investment in Queen during free agency, hoping he would help solidify the inside linebacker position, which has been an issue for Pittsburgh since Ryan Shazier’s career-ending injury in 2017.
The 25-year-old Queen started slow in Pittsburgh but has recently found his rhythm, becoming a key player for one of the NFL’s best defenses.
While Queen has yet to record a sack, he has four tackles for loss, deflected three passes, and has been an active presence against the run. That’s important as the Ravens, led by Lamar Jackson, come into the game with the top-ranked offense in the league.
Even though Jackson and his former Ravens teammates congratulated Queen when he signed with Pittsburgh, calling it a great move for him financially, Queen has temporarily stopped talking to his old teammates, including linebacker Roquan Smith.
Queen and Smith formed one of the top linebacker duos in the league, but Queen wanted to show that his success was not just because of Smith’s presence.
While Queen didn’t directly say he would have stayed in Baltimore if the Ravens had made him an offer, it’s clear that the relationships he built with his former team mean a lot to him, and it was tough to leave.
“I definitely did feel a certain type of way, the whole situation,” Queen said. He also mentioned that he hasn’t spoken to Ravens coach John Harbaugh since leaving. “But I’m over it now.”
Queen has moved on, and the Steelers are having their best start since 2020. Now, Queen is ready to embrace his role as the “villain” in one of the NFL’s most intense rivalries, as Pittsburgh takes on Baltimore.
One of the things Queen is most excited about is the chance to hit Jackson, something he couldn’t do when he was with the Ravens. The best he could do in practice was touch Jackson once in a while, but it was rare.
“We all know the type of athlete he is, how fast he is, how dynamic he is,” Queen said. “I would do my best to get in position to try and make a play.”
Pittsburgh has had success against Jackson in recent years, with a 3-1 record against him as a starter. The Steelers have allowed just four touchdown passes while picking off Jackson seven times.
Even though Jackson is playing better than ever this season, he’ll be facing a Steelers defense that knows how to slow him down. Queen had seen it firsthand when he was with Baltimore.
“(They keep) everything simple, trying to get after him, not let him do what he does,” Queen said. The Steelers used a similar approach last week against Washington and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, holding him in check long enough to win 28-27.
However, Queen knows this week will be different. This time, it’s Jackson and the Ravens, not a rookie quarterback.
Trash-talking his former teammates might be hard to avoid. Queen admitted there have been times he’s said things on the field he later regretted, but those moments usually come when he’s playing against someone he really doesn’t like.
This Sunday, though, it’s different. He’ll see his old friends in a new light, and he knows he’ll probably be talking the whole game.
“The older I got, the more I do it,” Queen said. “It’s just who I am now. I can’t control that. I can’t take it back. It’s just me.”
