The offseason was quite busy from a player acquisition standpoint for the Pittsburgh Steelers with GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl reshaping the roster in a big way.
A number of new faces came into the mix for the Black and Gold, creating quite a bit of excitement and anticipation for the 2024 season.
No two additions were bigger than quarterback Russell Wilson and inside linebacker Patrick Queen.
At least, that’s what ESPN’s Mike Clay believes.
In a piece for ESPN.com ranking the 50 most impactful offseason additions in the NFL, Wilson and Queen cracked the list as both are expected to play big roles this season for Pittsburgh.
Wilson, who was signed to a one-year, $1.21 million deal in free agency after the Denver Broncos released him and took on an $85 million dead cap hit over two seasons, came to Pittsburgh for a chance to play under head coach Mike Tomlin, aiming to resurrect his career as a good starting quarterback.
In Clay’s top 50, Wilson landed at No. 21, coming in behind fellow quarterbacks in Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins and all six rookie first-round quarterbacks, including Denver’s Bo Nix.
“The Steelers will have a new starting quarterback this season, and Wilson is the favorite to start in Week 1,” Clay writes. “Despite his falling out with Denver, Wilson played decent ball last season (29 total TDs in 15 games). However, he’s not higher on this list simply because there’s a good chance Justin Fields gets a substantial run this season. Pittsburgh tied for 30th in touchdown passes last season with 13, led by Kenny Pickett’s six.”
Wilson came to Pittsburgh with the expectation of being the starting quarterback, and that really hasn’t changed much. While he is on the shelf in training camp due to a calf injury suffered in the conditioning test while pushing a sled, the expectation remains that he will be the starting quarterback to open the season in Atlanta on Sept. 8 for the Black and Gold.
But the presence of fourth-year quarterback Justin Fields has generated some discussion as to who will truly be the starting quarterback — and if Wilson can hold off the former No. 11 overall pick whom the Steelers acquired via trade from the Chicago Bears just one day after officially announcing Wilson as a signing.
Pittsburgh will give Wilson every opportunity under center, but he has to play well or Fields will be breathing down his neck — if he isn’t already.
Then, there’s the Queen signing.
The Steelers snagged him away from the AFC North-rival Baltimore Ravens in free agency, creating a big splash with a three-year, $41 million deal.
Queen checks in at No. 24 on Clay’s top 50, just one spot behind former Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who was traded to Carolina this offseason.
“The Steelers made Queen the league’s fifth highest-paid off-ball linebacker during free agency, stealing him away from the division-rival Ravens,” Clay writes. “Queen (a 2020 first-round pick) and Bobby Wagner are the only players with at least 250 tackles and eight sacks over the past two seasons.”
Since signing with the Steelers, Queen has been questioned from a play perspective, with many wondering if he was just a by-product of playing next to Roquan Smith in Baltimore these last two years, leading to a second-team All-Pro accolade in 2023.
There is no denying that Queen got better once Smith was acquired by the Ravens, but that doesn’t mean Smith made him. He’s aiming to prove that in Pittsburgh after coming off a truly dominant season for the Ravens, recording a career-high 133 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and an interception, earning second-team All-Pro accolades.
He is a true run-and-hit linebacker downhill against the run and can drop into coverage, giving him the ability to play in all situations.
At just 24 years old, Queen’s best football appears to be ahead of him. That will hopefully come quickly in the Black and Gold at a position that was a major area of need entering the offseason
Queen will be relied on heavily in Pittsburgh. He’ll wear the green dot for the defense and aims to put an end to the revolving door at inside linebacker in the post-Ryan Shazier days, which are now closing in on nearly a decade.
He was an unexpected signing, but excitement is high regarding Queen as the Steelers finally have a high-end inside linebacker once again.
