Aaron Rodgers Detailed His Major Criticism Toward Steelers' Patrick Queen And Payton Wilson

The Pittsburgh Steelers made plenty of decisions throughout the 2026 offseason to reshape the roster. The depth chart does not look completely similar to what it was a year ago, so there are fresh faces when it comes to both the players and coaching staff. One area that hasn't really changed, however, is the inside linebackers' room. Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson will lead the way with Cole Holcomb and Carson Bruener also expected to contribute. Malik Harrison ended up being released while Elandon Roberts was perhaps the most surprising cut of all when the team initially narrowed everything down to just 53 players.

The Steelers cutting Roberts was especially shocking because he came in later in the offseason and performed extremely well. The overall belief was that he would make the team over Harrison, and contribute in the regular season as well. In the end, both ended up getting the boot. Now, there are four guys in the room who will be responsible for helping the defense reach its full potential.

The most important of them all is Queen, who wears the green dot and calls the plays on that side of the ball. When he was originally signed to a three-year, $41 million contract in 2024, expectations were extremely high. Unfortunately, he hasn't performed as well as many had hoped. He will be playing in 2026 with complete uncertainty around his future because he is not under contract in 2027.

His partner-in-crime will be Wilson for the majority of the time. The former third-round pick has had ups and downs as a pro, but still boasts a significant amount of potential. Anything he can do to get better moving forward will be a big-time plus for the Steelers. That's why a recent story from training camp spoke volumes about the duo developing.

Aaron Rodgers is one of those teammates who has seen it all, and isn't afraid to call guys out accordingly. When he joined the Not Just Football with Cam Heyward podcast that was released on Tuesday, he explained that he was very critical of the inside linebackers in Latrobe.

"Payton and PQ. There were a couple times, some of their drops early in camp where I was saying, 'Hey, you're dropping way too fast to a spot that we're not even threatening at this point,'" Rodgers explained. I said, 'Let me just tell you what that does for me when you do this movement and when you do that. When you line up like this and when you give away this pressure, and what I'm looking at,' so I think that's really valuable stuff from both sides."

It is a bit concerning that the Steelers' two starting inside linebackers were relatively lost on certain plays during camp. The good news is that someone like Rodgers has been around the NFL for over two decades, and was willing to work with them after mistakes were made. This is one of the biggest advantages to having someone like him under center.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with what Rodgers did. The fact that he isn't afraid to call out defenders, specifically a veteran in Queen, just speaks to his leadership style. He would much rather correct that in front of Steelers teammates compared to it biting the team in a live-game setting. It's hard to ignore the fact, though, that a somewhat simple schematic problem was happening from a duo that has been playing together for over two seasons.

Steelers Need To Get Much Better At Inside Linebacker In 2026

While the room pretty much looks the same, Pittsburgh is certainly planning on getting stronger play from guys like Queen and Wilson moving forward. It's clear that they were having some early troubles in camp, but Rodgers did not go on to say that the issues were continuous after he confronted them. The brass in the Steel City will be under plenty of fire if the inside linebackers struggle in 2026, so fans can only hope that the group is ready to go.

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