1 week Ago By Kevin Gorman
Patrick Queen leaned his head back and smiled, pausing before answering a question he knew was coming. Asked about playing for the first time against the team where he spent the first four seasons of his NFL career, he tried to balance his inner trash talker with diplomacy. Now that Queen is an inside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he can’t deny he spent months harboring resentment toward the Baltimore Ravens for how his time there ended.
With the Steelers (7-2) playing the Ravens (7-3) in their AFC North opener Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, Queen was forced to confront why he left the team that drafted him 28th overall in the first round in 2020 to sign a three-year, $41 million contract with their arch-nemesis and play the villain. “How do I answer this?” Queen said Wednesday afternoon after practice at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “I wasn’t offered to go back.
I wanted back and didn’t get an offer back. It’s definitely kind of upsetting, being there for four years and the bond that you broke with your teammates and stuff. “The first few months, you definitely go through those feelings.
Now, after playing games, you just go by that you want to win games. You want to win with your teammates, your new teammates. You want to bond with those guys.
Everything that you do is for the organization that you’re in now. I would have feelings. Anybody in my position would, obviously.
” No wonder Queen has vowed to play the villain in the rivalry. The 24-year-old LSU product said he has had Nov. 17 circled on his calendar, that he can’t wait for the chance to finally get to tackle Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, a two-time MVP enjoying another banner year.
And he’s looking forward to wearing gold instead of purple in a game known for its black-and-bruise style of play. Queen said the message is the same on both sides of the rivalry, with coaches setting the tone by reminding players to expect everything — from meetings to practices to the game — to be intensified this week. “Two places that know how to play great football, physical football, bloody football,” Queen said of Steelers-Ravens.
“A whole lot of trash talking, a whole lot of hitting. That’s basically it. There’s not going to be a lot of trick stuff going on.
It’s going to be football played. We’ll see who lasts the longest.” Still, Queen sounded like someone who is still hurt that his first Pro Bowl season with the Ravens wasn’t rewarded with a long-term deal.
Instead, he was forced to switch sides in a rivalry regarded among the NFL’s most intense. Queen said it took him until September to deal with his disappointment, adding that he hasn’t spoken with Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta or coach John Harbaugh since leaving. “Even though I signed, I was still working through those feelings, knowing that a long four years that you put in blood, sweat and tears over there, guys that you bonded with and built close relationships with,” Queen said.
“You put your body on the line every single time you went out there, even when you could barely even move, whatever the injury may have been. You just go out there and do your best for that team. So I definitely did feel a type of way after the whole situation, but I’m over it now.
” After a slow start, Queen is finding his footing with the Steelers. He ranks second in tackles (62) and third in solo stops (33), with four tackles for losses and three passes defensed. He took responsibility for his early-season mistakes, from a missed tackle on Atlanta Falcons Bijan Robinson to a dropped interception against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Queen’s progress has been “continual,” calling him “a guy who is comfortable within his skin.” Tomlin believes despite Queen leading the team in tackles in three games, including 13 against the Las Vegas Raiders, he is capable of higher-caliber play. “I think he has shown more comfort with each passing week.
And I think his production and consistency of play reflects that,” Tomlin said. “He realizes what we brought him here to do and he’s embraced that in terms of being a leader and hub of communication. I’ve got no issue with that.
“I just think that over time it’s reasonable to expect him to play faster, to see his talent show up more consistently and him to play with the edge that we appreciate as he gets more comfortable within what it is that we do, how we put plans together, how he marches himself toward a six- or seven-day preparation cycle. I’m excited about all of that moving forward.” Queen isn’t alone in switching sides in the Steelers-Ravens rivalry as strong safety DeShon Elliott and outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon also came to Pittsburgh from Baltimore.
What has impressed Steelers rookie inside linebacker Payton Wilson is how Queen is going about his business by channeling his emotions for his former team. “I think one thing that I have seen from him this week that kind of just reminded me of how professional he is, is that he takes every single day the exact same no matter who we are playing, no matter the competition,” Steelers inside linebacker Payton Wilson said. “Obviously, I mean, if you’re around him, it’s a big week.
It’s a big week for everyone. But if you were on the outside looking in, it’s just another week for him. He prepares and competes every week like it’s the Super Bowl, so just credit to him for that and his professionalism.
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