Will Patrick Queen have a bigger impact for the Steelers this week after his underwhelming debut?
Did anybody happen to notice Patrick Queen’s stat line for his Steelers debut? After earning a three-year, $41 million contract, the Pro Bowler produced two tackles, playing every snap. He played 56 snaps in all, so that is one tackle per 28 snaps. Acceptable if you’re a nose tackle, but eyebrow-raising when you are the principal linebacker.
The other two Steelers defenders who played every snap were S Minkah Fitzpatrick and CB Donte Jackson. Fitzpatrick led the team with seven tackles, while Jackson had two tackles and an interception. Queen missed more tackles than he made, depending on whom you ask—I’ve seen anywhere between two and four.
But so what? We’re talking about just one game and one game in which everybody is rusty. Patrick Queen is breaking himself into a new team and into a new role. He wears the green dot now, a responsibility he didn’t have to handle in Baltimore. Contextually, some growing pains are far from unreasonable.
Even with all the caveats in the world, you want a linebacker making eight figures to produce at a much higher rate than two tackles per game. He’s got his dud out of the way, but Queen can allay some fears with a better game this week.
Now, tackle numbers don’t always define play quality, even inside linebacker. Generally, your principal off-ball linebacker should have the most tackles, and Queen showed in Baltimore that he can rack up those numbers. But you can’t really speak on that without going through the tape.
After all, the Steelers’ defense played well, holding the Falcons to 10 points. Yes, Queen’s missed tackles are something that bears watching, but missed tackles are higher early in the season. Even with the Steelers’ more physical training camps, it still doesn’t match a real game. And Queen did miss some time in training camp due to an injury.
The bottom line is this: the Steelers brought in Patrick Queen to be a difference-maker. He has 10 takeaways, 13.5 sacks, and 37 tackles for loss in his first four seasons. Those are the plays he needs to make in the Black and Gold. Now, after noting how Week 1 went, it’s time to move on to Week 2.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a first-round playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they exit early or miss the playoffs altogether. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? How will the team continue to address the depth chart?
The regular season is here, following weeks of camp and preseason games. The Steelers made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
