Steelers' Patrick Queen Seems To Be Finally Performing As Advertised: "Now It's Coming Together More"

The Pittsburgh Steelers had high expectations for linebacker Patrick Queen when they gave him a three-year deal and the green dot in 2024. His first season in Western Pennsylvania was very rocky, as it felt like there were many missed opportunities, mixed with some regression. When conversations came up about him, it was mostly about how he was a product of Roquan Smith and he was just riding on his coattails from their time together with the Baltimore Ravens. 2024 would be his year to prove all those doubters wrong. 

During his weekly Q&A chat, Brian Batko was recently asked about those narratives, as well as Queen's performance in 2025 so far. He spoke about how the sixth-year linebacker has done, compared to 2024 and his time in Baltimore.

"I'm seeing Patrick Queen play with more consistency," Batko said. "He showed flashes last year, no doubt, but was frustrated with the final product himself. Now it's coming together more. And to be honest, I never really thought it was a case of the Ravens punting on his ability. They had a younger guy they thought was ready to take on a bigger role waiting in the wings and can't pay everyone."

Queen has definitely looked more comfortable through the first four weeks, especially in Weeks 3 and 4. In those two games, he has combined for 21 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, one quarterback hit, and two passes defended. He is also on pace to have his lowest missed tackle rate of his career at just 5.4% so far. Overall, he has been playing much cleaner ball while quarterbacking the defense. 

That kind of play is exactly what the Steelers wanted to see out of Queen back when they signed him in March of 2024. They didn't buy into the narrative of him being carried by Smith with the Ravens, and that is starting to pay off for them. If he can keep this level of play up, he could earn an extension at season's end. He could be the one helping out younger linebackers in the future, as opposed to the one being helped.

Even when anyone within the organization spoke about Queen during the 2025 offseason, it was all about how his first season in Pittsburgh was not who he was. The frustrations surrounding his 2024 performance was mutual. His second season with the Steelers was seen as a do-or-die season. If he improved, he could stay. If not, he would have been a prime cut candidate. Luckily, he got back to old form.

Steelers Made Life Hard On Queen In 2024

A theme that keeps coming up time and time again is how Head Coach Mike Tomlin runs a very complicated defense. It can be a massive pain for newcomers to understand everything in his scheme. Not only did Queen have to understand everything immediately, but he had to bark out those plays to his teammates every play, since he is essentially the defensive quarterback. 

Communication issues plagued the Steelers all throughout the 2024 season, and it led to fingers getting pointed all over the place. More importantly, it led to a massive collapse, as Pittsburgh started off 10-3 before losing out, including an embarrassing defeat to the Ravens in the Wild Card Round that left a sour taste in everyone's mouth.

Those same communication problems have popped up throughout the 2025 campaign as well. However, it seems to be less on Queen and more on the other newcomers trying to understand their role in a very versatile unit. The linebacker's knowledge of the defense, as well as his recent performances, may urge the front office to keep him around for a few more years. Trying to teach another new linebacker how to call the defense could be as problematic as it was when Queen first signed.

What do you think about Queen's performance so far? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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