The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a very different team ever since General Manager Omar Khan took over the front office in the middle of the 2022 offseason. Khan has approached each year since with a bit of aggression, while striving to improve the roster and give Pittsburgh their best chance at winning their seventh Lombardi Trophy. Pittsburgh has been more active on the trade market, more hungry to bring in big name players during free agency, and more willing to trade away their own talent if things haven't been going the way the organization envisioned.
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Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
The 2025 offseason was a big one for Pittsburgh as the organization parted ways with George Pickens and brought in DK Metcalf. Several other additions were made as well, including Jalen Ramsey. During the 2024 offseason, Pittsburgh brought in inside linebacker Patrick Queen in free agency. This was a big add as he had previously been an All-Pro for the Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh had to play him twice a year. After one of those games, Head Coach Mike Tomlin shared a message with Queen on the field in Pittsburgh. Queen told this story during the most recent episode of Not Just Football With Cam Heyward.
"So we was playing in Pittsburgh, and Mike T comes to me after the game," Queen explained. "He's like, 'You're going to be a Steeler.' I'm like, 'Who said that?' I had no idea who said that. And he just walked off. So I'm looking around wondering who said that. Once I got here, he told me that it was him. It doesn't even register, like in the time, that you could speak things into existence."
Queen became a free agent after the 2023 season, so the game he is referring to is likely the won that the Steelers won at home that year. Kenny Pickett found Pickens down the right sideline for a touchdown late in the game and Pittsburgh won the contest by a score of 17-10. Rather than celebrating, Tomlin walked up to Queen in order to plant a seed about him potentially joining Pittsburgh in the following year.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen (6) participates in the Organized Team Activities (OTAs), Tuesday May 27, 2025 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Before bringing this story up, Queen checked in with Cam Heyward to make sure it was legal to discuss. It might be frowned upon for an opposing coach to go up to a player on another team after a game like this and say something, but it doesn't fall into the category of tampering. Heyward is Pittsburgh's rep and a vice president for the NFL Player's Association, so he knows how the tampering rules work -- and he knows his coach did nothing wrong.
What Tomlin did might flirt with the idea of tampering, but it sounds like he made one simple comment to Queen after the game and then walked off the field. No contractual business was discussed, and Tomlin made no form of illegal contact since the conversation took place after a game.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Joey Porter Jr. and Patrick Queen during a Week 7 victory over the New York Jets in 2024.
Steelers' Mike Tomlin Played A Major Role In Patrick Queen Coming To Pittsburgh
It is no secret that Tomlin is one of the most well-respected coaches in the NFL, and players all around the league would love to have the opportunity to play for him. Queen was that same way, and he got an up close look at Tomlin twice a year while he was with Baltimore. The linebacker was coming up on free agency, and the Ravens did not seem to have any intention of signing him.
Queen had interest from other teams around the league outside of the Steelers, but he wound up choosing Pittsburgh, despite having more lucrative offers elsewhere. This shows the effect that Tomlin can have, and why he is beneficial to the organization in Pittsburgh, despite facing a ton of criticism.
What do you think about this story from Queen? Let us know in the comments below!
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