It’s been a matchup that has been circled on his calendar since the day he signed a three-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency, and now that day and matchup are upon Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen. His return to Baltimore to take on the Ravens.
Queen signing with the Steelers generated quite a bit of hurt feelings for Ravens players and the fan base as a home-grown guy like Queen left and signed with Baltimore’s bitter rival. It didn’t help that Queen had some strong words about the Steelers and the organization, stating that this was a place he was meant to be and that the Ravens didn’t want him.
There was the back-and-forth on social media with Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey in the summer, and then the comments leading up to the Week 11 matchup that he hasn’t spoken to Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and GM Eric DeCosta since the end of the 2023 season and that the Ravens never made him a contract offer.
The Steelers scooped him up, adding him to a loaded defense. He’s been up and down this season as the star inside linebacker, but he already has one game against his former team under his belt, and it just so happened to be his best game of the season.
Now, he has to go back to a city he’s familiar with, this time as the enemy.
“I’m probably going to get a lot of FUs and boos and stuff, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t want any other way,” Queen said of what he is expecting from Ravens fans Saturday, according to video via 93.7 The Fan on Twitter. “That’s football, that’s competition.
“That’s a high level of competitiveness, so I’m all for it.”
He should be all for it and should embrace it. That can add an extra little chip on the shoulder and help elevate play just a bit. Coming off arguably his worst game of the season against the Eagles in which he missed three tackles and looked rather rough in space, Queen needs any boost he can find.
The first time Patrick Queen faced the Ravens in Week 11 at Acrisure Stadium, he had a great day, inserting himself into the rivalry from the Black and Gold’s side of things.
Queen put his mark on the rivalry, stripping TE Isaiah Likely for a huge fumble deep in Baltimore territory, setting up a field goal near the end of the first half and helping lift the Steelers to an 18-16 win that day. Queen also finished with a team-high 10 tackles and was all over the place on the day, providing a physical presence.
He graded out at a 79.3 overall from Pro Football Focus and looked like the linebacker the Steelers were expecting when they gave him big money in free agency.
Now, he has to make the difficult trip back to Baltimore, this time in an opposing uniform. For four years, Patrick Queen was beloved in Baltimore, but that all changed when he signed with the Steelers. He’s Black and Gold through and through and is looking to prove that once again.
He knows what’s coming, though, and hopefully that provides him some additional fire in a game that could decide the AFC North championship.
