PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Asked about the way things ended in Baltimore, there was a pause from linebacker Patrick Queen on Wednesday in the Steelers locker room. He then debated quickly, audibly, if he wanted to answer it. What he ended up saying, he hadn’t before.
“I wasn’t offered to go back,” Queen said. “I don’t know if I’ve said that in public or not. I wasn’t wanted back. I didn’t get an offer back.”
“It was definitely kinda upsetting being there for four years and the bond you build with your teammates.”
Queen said the first couple of months he went through those feelings. He has not talked to Ravens head coach John Harbaugh or GM Eric DeCosta since then. He said it took right until the beginning of regular season games before he worked through the disappointment of the team he worked so hard for discarding him.
When he got to that point, Queen just fully embraced being a Steeler. The 25-year-old had put it behind him, at least until this week. He wanted to win games with in Pittsburgh. Now he’s bonding with a new group and on the other side of arguably the best rivalry in the NFL.
It was March 12th when he officially signed with the Steelers, three years, $41 million. At the time he said he ‘wanted to be that villain. Wanted to be that guy to do some stuff to them’. Now we know now deeply it runs. After a career-high 133 tackles and named to the Pro Bowl in 2023 (454 tackles, five forced fumbles, 13.5 sacks, four interceptions in four seasons with Baltimore), the Ravens went in another direction.
“I will have feelings,” Queen said. “Anybody in my position would this week. Just take it one day at a time and whatever happens, happens.”
He said he will try to keep self-control when it comes to the game Sunday. Not that he will alter his game or approach. Queen said he’s a trash talker and it won’t change against people who he was trying to win a Super Bowl with 10 months ago.
He talked to Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith last week, but likely won’t talk to anyone else in Baltimore this week. They each want to keep their attention on doing their jobs.
Queen is doing his better now with the Steelers. The Louisiana native is starting to settle in and make plays with his new team. He said he missed some simple plays in his first couple of games, but he’s eliminating those mistakes. He said he had to look in the mirror and had to get back to himself and raise his standard. He had a Steelers high two tackles for loss, six solo tackles and a pass defended against the Commanders. He had eight stops against the Giants and 13 vs. Las Vegas.
He knows the challenge he and his new defense will face in Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Queen has the utmost respect for the multi-time NFL MVP and former teammate.
“He wants to win,” Queen said. “He will do whatever it takes to win and he knows what it takes. Being not allowed to tackle him in practice, I will finally get a chance to tackle him, that should be fun.”
“He is a great competitor and great athlete. He can do whatever he wants on the field. For me, it’s going against the best.”
It hasn’t been an easy transition. There are a lot of emotions there, but Queen’s faced them and now went public with them. Up next, the biggest challenge yet to overcome, beating his old teammates.