The Pittsburgh Steelers’ inside linebacker position has been a revolving door since Ryan Shazier’s injury in 2017, and were it physically possible, Patrick Queen is coming in to slam it shut. He signed from the Baltimore Ravens on a three-year, $41 million deal with no question of his role.
Before he takes a snap, Queen is already clearly the top man in the room and one of the leaders of the defense. A 2023 All-Pro at just 24 years old, he qualifies as just about the biggest splash signing in team history. At least, up there with the likes of Kevin Greene and Jeff Hartings, adjusted for inflation. Reporters asked him about remembering Shazier during his introductory press conference.
“I definitely do. I remember him,” he said via the team’s website. “Super, super fast, would come down and hit something. I definitely do remember him. I remember watching live when that stuff happened, and it sucked. I’m glad he’s better now. But my job is basically just to come fill those shoes”.
Queen was a freshman at LSU the year Shazier suffered a severe spinal injury that ended his career. He went down on the field motionless following a tackle attempt early in a primetime game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Already well on his way to another Pro Bowl season, he made it anyway despite being limited to 11-plus games. Shazier ended the 2017 season with 89 tackles, three tackles for loss, three interceptions, 11 passes defensed, and two fumbles.
Queen and Shazier don’t have identical games—the latter became an elite coverage linebacker—but he is clearly the best linebacker the team has employed since then. In four seasons in Baltimore, he registered 454 tackles with 37 for loss, 13.5 sacks, four interceptions, and five forced fumbles.
In the year after Shazier’s injury, the Steelers signed Jon Bostic to pair with Vince Williams. They released him after one season and 73 tackles, moving on to Mark Barron on a bigger contract in 2019. This time, they took a big swing, trading up in the first round for Devin Bush.
After a promising rookie season, Bush tore his ACL in the first half of 2020, and he never looked the same. His play in 2021 marked some of the worst football ever seen by a Steelers starting linebacker. Though he improved by degrees in the final year of his rookie deal, Pittsburgh moved on and happily let him walk.
Not that they found an alternative solution. They tried adding Joe Schobert via trade in 2021 with little effect. Myles Jack had his turn in 2022, again released after one season. Arguably the most successful linebacker in the interim since Shazier proved to be Robert Spillane, who is now a Raider. And rather than opt for another swing in the draft like Bush, they signed Queen.
In 2023, the Steelers turned the room over nearly completely, adding Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and Kwon Alexander as veteran free agents. Things looked promising before Holcomb and Alexander succumbed to season-ending injuries in consecutive weeks. Only Roberts is guaranteed to return in 2024, and he’ll have Queen by his side.
