Patrick Queen joined the Pittsburgh Steelers with the kind of contract that changes expectations before a player ever takes a snap. General manager Omar Khan handed out a three-year, $41 million deal to the version of Queen who looked fast and physical next to Roquan Smith in Baltimore.
That was always the concern. Plenty of analysts and former players believed Queen’s breakout with the Ravens was tied directly to Smith doing the dirty work next to him. Smith could take on blocks, clean up communication, and let Queen run freely. Once Queen left that setup, the question wasn’t whether he could make tackles. He’s always done that. The concern was whether he could control the middle of a defense without an All-Pro linebacker steering traffic beside him.
The answer, it turns out, is no.
The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't gotten the Patrick Queen they paid for through two seasons
Through two seasons in Pittsburgh, those doubts haven’t gone away.
Queen started all 17 games in 2025 and remained one of the Steelers’ most available defenders, but the efficiency fell apart. His missed-tackle issues were abysmal, with 31 misses and a rate over 21 percent, according to Pro Football Focus. For an inside linebacker making that kind of money, durability only gets you so far. The Steelers needed clean run fits, reliable tackling, and better answers in coverage.
They didn’t get enough of any of that.
The middle of the field became a recurring problem. Crossing routes came open too easily, zone drops looked disconnected, and man coverage exposed mismatches. While some of that falls on the secondary, some on coaching, and some on communication across the entire defense, the former first-round pick sits in the middle of it all.
That’s where the Smith criticism now hits home for Steelers fans. In Baltimore, Queen could play downhill with less hesitation. In Pittsburgh, he’s been asked to diagnose, communicate, defeat blocks, and hold up in coverage without the same stabilizing presence next to him. Payton Wilson helps, but the Steelers need Queen to be more than just a tackler.
The lack of splash plays only adds to the mounting frustration. Queen’s tackle totals can look respectable on paper, but forced fumbles, interceptions, and drive-changing moments haven’t matched the price tag. ESPN recently named him the Steelers’ biggest weakness, which only reinforced what fans saw throughout 2025.
Patrick Graham now inherits that problem as Pittsburgh’s new defensive coordinator, with Scott McCurley returning to work with the inside linebackers. Their job is to simplify Queen’s reads, tighten the coverage rules, and put him in spots where his speed shows up before his hesitation.
Queen, 26, is entering the final year of his deal with a $17.1 million cap hit. Trade rumors came and went before the draft, and despite the ILB deep class, the Steelers passed on adding one. That says plenty about their hopes that Queen can finally end the criticism that followed him from Baltimore.
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