In year two of general manager Omar Khan’s full control of the Steelers’ offseason moves, the roster churn continued, with quite a few positions receiving significant overhauls. On the offensive side of the ball, the offensive line and the quarterback rooms received pretty large reworks, and the defense saw big changes in both the secondary and the inside linebacker rooms.
Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon ranked the 25 best moves of the offseason so far, and the Steelers made the list twice.
Coming in at No. 9 on the list was the addition of ILB Patrick Queen.
“Not only must Baltimore replace Stone at safety, the Ravens lost linebacker Patrick Queen to the rival Steelers,” Kenyon wrote. “The Steelers weakened an AFC North foe while locking in Queen for a very affordable $41 million over three seasons.”
It is a win anytime you can make a divisional foe weaker while upgrading your own roster. There is a reason that teams very rarely trade within the division, but the Baltimore Ravens had no power in this situation after declining his fifth-year option and allowing Queen to become an unrestricted free agent. Queen even hinted that he was offered more money elsewhere but wanted to come to Pittsburgh for a chance to win and play for a great organization.
His contract is very team-friendly as it backloads his earning potential and gives the team an out if things don’t work out. Hopefully, that will not be the case, but it is still a bargain for Pittsburgh for a player of Queen’s caliber at just 24 years old.
The Steelers were forced to start seven different inside linebackers in 2023, and it was detrimental to the defense’s success. Queen should be wearing the green communication dot so he can speak to the sideline and take play calls, so this move upgraded their “quarterback of the defense” on top of a solid player at a position of need.
At No. 2 on the list were the additions of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields as the Steelers completely transformed their quarterback room this offseason.
“Mason Rudolph provided a memorable spark and helped the Steelers slide into the playoffs last season, but the team needed a new solution under center. Kenny Pickett didn’t develop as hoped, and Rudolph has been a career backup,” Kenyon wrote. “Pittsburgh hardly could’ve added a more cost-effective QB pairing.”
Not only did the Steelers upgrade their talent at the most important position, but they did so with almost zero investment. A veteran minimum contract and a future conditional sixth-round pick were all it took to grab both Wilson and Fields. This was in the same offseason that Kirk Cousins received $100 million guaranteed at 36 years old.
It is a win-win situation for the Steelers, who limited their risk and kept their options wide open moving into the future. If Wilson performs well and looks like he still has a few years in him, then they can work out an extension next offseason. If Fields flashes enough promise, they can move forward with him at just 25 years old to be the quarterback of the future. They upgraded their chance to win now while keeping options open for the future. You can’t get much better than that.
