One of the best parts about holding training camp at Saint Vincent College is the lack of distractions the players face. Latrobe has a population of just under 8,000 people, so when football activities are done for the day, all the players can do is spend time with each other and bond off the field. That team-building environment is especially important for the rookies and the veterans who joined the Steelers for the first time in free agency. Perhaps one of the most important people to get adjusted to the locker room and the Steelers culture is ILB Patrick Queen.
He was the prized signing in free agency and figures to be the quarterback of the defense with the green communication dot on his helmet to field communication from the sideline.
Elandon Roberts talked about team bonding at training camp during his entrance to Saint Vincent College on Wednesday afternoon.
“I feel like it’s real good because this team, a lot of the guys know each other. But me doing it for the first time last year, it gave me an opportunity to spend some time with Cam [Heyward], T.J. [Watt], Minkah [Fitzpatrick], the young guys. Even the offensive guys,” Roberts said in a video posted on the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “It just gives us a time to all come together, sit together at lunch…I think that’s [one of the] great things about training camp. How [do] you expect to go to battle with somebody you don’t know.”
An effective leader should have some connection with the players they are leading. From the sound of it, Queen is fitting right in, and Roberts has been a big part of that adjustment for him.
“It’s crazy. It’s like we’ve been knowing each other for years now. So it’s just good having a vet when I came in here to take me under his wing and show me everything that the whole organization is about,” Queen said in a video posted by TribLive’s Chris Adamski on X.
Those two should be the Steelers’ top two inside linebackers to start out the season. Roberts had the green dot last season when Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander went down with season-ending injuries in back-to-back weeks. He knows what that is like communicating with Mike Tomlin and DC Teryl Austin, so he can certainly help Queen adjust to that role.
Queen is the more athletic of the two, but Roberts proved last season that he is plenty capable as an every-down linebacker. He was surprisingly capable in pass coverage and served as the glue to hold the defense together in the midst of the many injuries they suffered.
It has been a long time since the Steelers have had this much talent in their inside linebacker room. Now, Queen and Roberts are out to prove that they can both “do everything” together on the field.
