Steelers Insider Gives Definitive Read On Veteran Pittsburgh Isn't Ready To Move On From

The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent months hearing the same question about one of the most expensive and scrutinized players in the middle of their defense. His contract is almost over, his performance has swung from excellent to frustrating, and the organization has younger options around him. From the outside, that usually looks like the beginning of an exit plan. Inside Pittsburgh, though, the picture apparently is not nearly that simple.

Patrick Queen is the veteran in question, and Ray Fittipaldo does not believe the Steelers are preparing to treat him as disposable. During a recent appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Fittipaldo pushed back on the idea that people inside the organization have become fed up with Queen simply because his first five games have been uneven.

“I wouldn’t say that, I think Queen’s play has been up and down…. I don’t think there’s any sense in that building that they think they can move on without him,” Fittipaldo said.

That is an important distinction because Queen has become one of those Steelers players whose bad snaps tend to travel farther than his good ones. Pittsburgh signed him to a three-year, $41 million contract in 2024 after his All-Pro season with the Baltimore Ravens, and the expectation was obvious: stabilize the middle of a defense that had spent years searching for permanence there. Queen is now playing out the final year of that deal.

The results have not been clean enough to settle the argument. Queen finished his first two Pittsburgh seasons with 129 and 120 tackles, but his coverage, tackling and consistency were criticized at different points. This year has produced the same kind of whiplash. Through five games, he has 35 tackles, an interception and two passes defensed, with no sacks or forced fumbles. He had 13 tackles against Cincinnati, then five during the loss in Cleveland before recording seven against Indianapolis.

That is basically the definition of “up and down,” but it is also nowhere close to “replaceable without a plan.”

The easiest mistake Pittsburgh could make would be treating Queen like a box-score linebacker. He still wears the green dot, which means his job includes getting Patrick Graham's defense lined up, relaying calls and making adjustments before the snap. Those responsibilities become even more important in a new system where communication has already been one of the biggest points of emphasis. Queen wore the green dot for all 17 games last season, and that communication role remains central to how Pittsburgh operates.

Mike McCarthy offered a good example of why the organization may view Queen differently than portions of the fan base. After Queen piled up 13 tackles against Cincinnati, McCarthy praised his communication and stressed how much better the connection looked across Pittsburgh's defense. That kind of responsibility is harder to replace than one missed tackle is to criticize.

It also helps explain why Payton Wilson has talked about wanting to take some of the communication burden off Queen without taking the job away from him. Wilson admitted during the offseason that Queen was making almost every call and that he wanted to become capable of helping when his teammate was exhausted. Pittsburgh has another athletic inside linebacker. That does not automatically mean it has another defensive traffic controller ready to handle everything Queen does.

This is where Fittipaldo’s comment should cool some of the louder assumptions around Queen. Being disappointed by portions of his tape is completely reasonable. The Browns game gave critics plenty to work with, and a player carrying Queen’s salary and experience should not need his mistakes explained away every week.

But there is a huge difference between “Pittsburgh wants better” and “Pittsburgh believes it can function the same without him.” Fittipaldo is saying he does not sense the second sentiment inside the building.

That should matter more than speculation built around Queen entering the final year of his contract. Pittsburgh can be undecided about paying him again in 2027 while still believing it needs him in 2026. Those ideas are not contradictory. In fact, they are probably the most honest evaluation of where Queen currently stands.

Steelers Should Demand More Without Pretending Queen Is Easy To Replace

Queen has not played well enough to make his future an automatic decision. The Steelers would be foolish to hand out another major contract simply because he wears the green dot and knows the system. The next 12 games still have to tell Pittsburgh whether the highs show up often enough to justify another investment.

They would be equally foolish to pretend his job is simple because another linebacker can run faster or make a cleaner tackle on a particular Sunday.

The best version of Queen gives Graham an experienced communicator who can play every down, chase sideline to sideline and handle the mental traffic that comes with operating the middle of a defense. The frustrating version misses tackles, gets caught in space and makes a $41 million contract feel heavier than it should.

Both versions have existed. That is why Fittipaldo’s wording is useful. He did not claim Queen has been great, and he did not suggest Pittsburgh is rushing to extend him. He said the play has been uneven while making clear that he does not sense anyone inside the building believes the Steelers can simply move on without him.

For Queen, that is not a free pass. It is something more valuable in October: evidence that Pittsburgh still sees a player it needs, even while waiting for him to become the player it can trust every week.

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