Rarely does a team draft a player in the first round and not feel good about it. While there may have been other players you were hoping would be available to you wherever you might have been picking, chances are you ended up adding a player you thought would be a long-term contributor.
Even though the Baltimore Ravens opted not to pick up the fifth-year option for inside linebacker Patrick Queen, however, it seems to be the case that both sides still feel good about the relationship, and about the potential for it to continue beyond this season.
“It’s a blessing in disguise, really. You see guys go both sides of it and get paid either way”, Queen told reporters recently when asked about not having his option picked up, via a transcript of his press conference during OTAs from the team’s website.
The exercising of the fifth-year option has become less and less of an accurate barometer for a player’s future with the team, in large part because it has become more expensive to do so. Several years back, beginning with the class of 2018, the fifth-year salary became fully guaranteed once activated, for example. Further changes added more ways for players to earn a higher salary since then.
As a result, many more players are not having their options picked up. I believe only about a dozen from this most recent wave had their option picked up, though in some cases, others may have already signed an extension instead. Other players might play out their fifth year and still re-sign with their original team, or even play out their fourth year with no option year and come back. That’s what Queen is hoping.
“I just came to the realization that everything is not a bad thing. The front office, talked to them a little bit. They kept me grounded and let me know what it really was and how they feel”, he said. “At the end of the day, this is the place that I want to play. This is where I want to be. So, however the chips fall, I’m happy with it”.
Now, it goes without saying that it’s always a better indication for a player to have his option picked up than not, but the point is, the decision to exercise the option for most players has become one more about business and the salary cap. Players like Joe Burrow are always going to have their options picked up, but there will be many more Patrick Queens.
The LSU product has started every game since he was drafted in the first round in 2020. He has compiled 321 tackles during that time, including 28 for loss, with 10 sacks, four forced fumbles, three interceptions, and nine passes defensed. He put up this best numbers almost across the board during the 2022 season, especially after the team added Roquan Smith at the trade deadline.
