The Baltimore Ravens acquired Pro Bowl inside linebacker Roquan Smith via trade during the 2022 season and then worked out a long-term extension to keep him around. earlier this month. They elected to decline the fifth-year option for Patrick Queen, the inside linebacker they themselves drafted in 2020. They even used an early draft pick on the position in April with Trenton Simpson.
But that doesn’t mean the writing is on the wall for Queen by any means. Indeed, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta recently confirmed that it is their hope to work out a long-term extension with him instead.
It is becoming increasingly common for teams to decline the fifth-year options on their first-round draft picks. Indeed, a career-low 12 of the 32 first-round selections in 2020 had their options exercised, though there are some significant caveats—one player was arrested, another passed away.
In other cases, teams simply no longer feel as though the fifth-year option holds the same value it used to. The cost of the option rises annually and it is now guaranteed once exercised rather than at the start of the league year of the player’s fifth season.
A number of players who have their options declined do end up signing extensions with their original teams. And DeCosta maintains that the Ravens intend for Queen to be one of them.
“We want Patrick Queen on this team; we want to keep him on this team. We will, at some point, try to get him signed, hopefully, to an extension if we can”, he recently told The Lounge, a podcast hosted on the team’s website.
The LSU product had his best season in 2022, finishing the year with 117 tackles, including nine for loss. He doubled his career sack total with five on the year while producing a forced fumble, two interceptions, and six passes defensed.
The 23-year-old also seemed to step up his game once Baltimore brought Smith in through a midseason trade. Indeed, the defense altogether played at a higher level, and there would be good reason for the organization to want to keep that inside linebacker tandem together.
After all, it should be reminded, not all draft picks work out, no matter how high they were selected. Simpson might be a shiny new third-round pick to get fans excited, but they were also excited about Malik Harrison — drafted in the third round in the same year as Queen —who has never played more than 25 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in a season.
It’s worth noting that more than most teams, the Ravens are willing to negotiate a deal seemingly anytime, anywhere. The only reason they did not negotiate with quarterback Lamar Jackson in-season last year was because the player himself imposed his own cutoff point, wanting to focus on the season. And then they traded for and extended Smith that same season, getting a deal done on January 11.
In other words, there’s plenty of time for the Ravens and Queen to do business before he is due to hit the open market.
