The 2024 offseason was chock-full of change for the Pittsburgh Steelers. From the quarterback room overhaul to the offensive line rebuild in the draft and the addition of new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the Steelers were not shy about making moves to get back to competing in the playoffs.
Of all the large-scale changes I listed off, they were all on the offensive side of the ball. The defense received some help, too. According to CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell, the Steelers’ best move of the offseason was on defense with the addition of ILB Patrick Queen in free agency.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers needed to beef up their front seven, particularly at their inside linebacker position, after surrendering 120.3 rushing yards per game in 2023, ranking 17th in the league in that department. They were able to come away with 2023 second-team All-Pro linebacker Patrick Queen, who played his first four seasons with archrival Baltimore Ravens,” Podell wrote. “Queen is one of only six players with at least 450 tackles (454) and double-digit sacks (13.5) since he entered the NFL as the 28th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.”
That stat puts him in company with Roquan Smith, Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David, Demario Davis, and Devin White. The Steelers have been in need of a top-flight inside linebacker ever since Ryan Shazier suffered his career-ending injury in 2017. They had a pretty solid group entering the 2023 season, but two of the three suffered season-ending injuries and forced the Steelers into a terrible spot late in the season.
Poaching him from the Ravens is a double whammy, as they made the Ravens worse while upgrading their own team. And he comes to Pittsburgh with the right mentality, hoping to play the villain to his former team on the other side of the rivalry. He is going to be an every-down linebacker for the Steelers and wear the green dot to receive communication from the sideline. So the Steelers upgraded at both the quarterback of the offense and defense.
Queen steps into a very competitive defense that really doesn’t have a weak link entering the season. That should give him every opportunity to pick up where he left off in 2023 with his best career season, and he will be playing against a lot of familiar opponents since he remains in the AFC North.
