The Pittsburgh Steelers have several big extensions they'd like to get done this offseason. The exceptional crop of talent from the 2023 draft class is entering contract years, and the team would love to see players like Nick Herbig, Joey Porter Jr., Darnell Washington, and even Keeanu Benton locked in for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, the Steelers have also been in contract talks with a disappointing veteran.
The media caught up with linebacker Patrick Queen during the second week of OTAs. When asked whether he has been in discussions about his future with the Steelers and whether contract talks have taken place, he said they have, per DK Pittsburgh Sports.
"Yeah, there was talks here and there. Nothing crazy. Obviously, I've seen the whole charade that went on this offseason. But, I mean, there's talks on. Obviously, you know, no movement either way. You know, at the end of the day, they got a business to handle; I got a business to handle, and my business is to go out there and play the best football that I can..."
Nothing has materialized yet... and Steelers fans should be praying that nothing will.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can't afford to extend Patrick Queen's contract
If I were to make a list of contract extension priorities, Patrick Queen would be near the bottom. In fact, he simply wouldn't make the list at all. Though he flashed on rare occasions in 2025, his performance last season was hard to stomach, as he proved to be one of the weakest links on defense.
Despite playing 1,180 snaps last season, Queen earned a disgraceful 43.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2025. His 30.1 tackling grade and 32.4 coverage grades were among the lowest marks of all qualifying players in the league—regardless of position. Queen was credited with missing 20.4 percent of his tackle attempts last season.
But his struggles hardly ended there.
In addition to being a liability when defending the run, Queen was a sieve in pass coverage—allowing 74 receptions on 93 targets for 829 yards and three touchdowns. This equated to a despicable 114.6 passer rating allowed in coverage.
Many Steelers fans know better than to be fooled by his unwarranted 'Pro Bowl' status or the fact that players voted him as the 75th overall player on the NFL Top 100 list ahead of the 2025 season. Queen was a downright liability last year, and we can't expect that to change as he gets older.
While Queen is still just 26 years old, it's concerning that he's entering his seventh NFL season and still making so many routine mental mistakes. And if he hasn't learned to clean up his coverage chops and zone discipline by now, he probably never will.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will have money to spend on future contract extensions, but Patrick Queen should not be among them. I understand what the team was doing when they brought him back—they wanted one last hurrah with the presumed return of Aaron Rodgers and an aging roster.
But we've already seen every reason why this should be Queen's last season in Pittsburgh.
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