This year's NFL free agency period has featured plenty of players signing with former rivals. Calvin Ridley left the Jacksonville Jaguars for the Tennessee Titans, Saquon Barkley ditched the New York Giants for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dan Quinn stole several Dallas Cowboys for the Washington Commanders. We also saw some movement within the AFC North, as former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen signed a three-year, $41 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Queen is one of just six players to record at least 450 combined tackles and 10 sacks in the last four seasons. After recording 133 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, six passes defensed and one interception in 2023, Queen earned his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections.
Why did Queen choose to sign with the Steelers in free agency?
"I think just the organization itself, known for winning, known for great defense, and they got a bunch of stars over here," Queen said during his introductory press conference Friday. "I just wanted to come be a part of that and be that extra piece to try and win again."
That's all well and good, but what about the fact that he will be playing against the team that selected him with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft twice a year? Queen says he wants to lean into that "villain" role.
"It's going to be weird, but I mean, you know. I wanna be that villain, I want to be that guy," Queen said. "I'm looking to do some stuff to them."
In 2023, the Ravens defense became the first to ever lead or co-lead the league in scoring defense, sacks and takeaways. Queen shined playing next to Roquan Smith, but can he be the same difference-maker now that he's "the guy" at linebacker?
"The whole situation is, you know, (Smith) definitely helped me, and I definitely learned a lot from him," Queen said, via Trib Live. "But at the same time, I've got to go out on the field and perform. I've got to play. I've got to tackle. I've got to do these things. I've got to catch the ball.
"So when it comes to (the opinion that), 'he made me,' I think I was already on my path that I'm on right now. It just took a little time, and I started hitting that stride at the beginning of that third year. And once (Smith) got here, that just even helped even more. So now it's my time to go out there and lead and (lift) somebody else up."
