PITTSBURGH — For the first few weeks of offseason workouts, it was jarring for Mike Tomlin to see Patrick Queen in a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey.
“He was like, ‘You still don’t look right in the black and gold,’” the Pro Bowl linebacker, in a recent interview with The Baltimore Banner, recalled Tomlin saying.
But by the time training camp rolled around, the Steelers’ longtime head coach had decided the combination looked “perfect” on Queen.
For Ravens fans — and players — the new color scheme remains unsettling. Queen was the Ravens’ first-round pick in 2020, a supremely gifted athlete who did not immediately live up to lofty expectations, but by last season had blossomed, alongside Roquan Smith, into one of the better middle linebackers in the NFL.
But with Smith already commanding a $13.5 million salary cap hit in 2024 — a figure set to rise in coming years — and a seemingly capable replacement in Trenton Simpson on the roster, the Ravens declined to pick up Queen’s fifth-year option during the 2023 offseason and then let him hit free agency in March. They’ve often shown faith in their Day 1 and Day 2 draft picks, rewarding even those who don’t immediately deliver by picking up their fifth-year option or giving them an extension.
But Queen was second-team All-Pro, and then he was gone — to Baltimore’s most hated rival, on a three-year, $41 million deal.
Read More
That destination has led to plenty of verbal sparring between Queen and Ravens players. At his introductory news conference in Pittsburgh, Queen said he wanted “to be that villain” for the Ravens. He’ll clearly be a main character in the rivalry when the teams play this season. But beneath all that noise is a player who remains as thankful for his time with the Ravens as he is eager to show he can stand on his own.
Talking the talk
It is, in a way, fitting that Queen landed with the Steelers and played up the tension of the rivalry. As a Raven, he’d held on to a grudge against Tomlin for years based on something the coach had said to him when he was a rookie.
Last October, Queen fueled the fire by harkening back to 2020, when he says Tomlin yelled from the sideline: “You’re not a Raven. You’re not supposed to be there.”
Queen took it personally. It might have been a joke. But Queen didn’t care.
The Steelers usually got the last laugh anyway; Queen went 1-7 against Pittsburgh as a starter, including a 17-10 loss in January that kept the Steelers’ playoff hopes alive. About two months later, Queen signed with Tomlin’s team. He also now says Tomlin was a big reason why.
“I think that was a hint,” Queen told Pittsburgh-area reporters in his introductory news conference. “Even though I wanted to come fight him then and there, that was a hint at the time.”
Queen has since gotten to know Tomlin, and he says he’s learned Tomlin loves to talk trash alongside his players — and, at times, to his players. That makes them a good fit: Queen has never shied from sharing his feelings, and he enjoys playing the heel.
He fully embraced the rivalry’s bad blood after a few seasons with the Ravens. He readily acknowledges that if you’d told him two years ago where he’d be now, he would have scoffed.
“P.Q. [back then] would have been like, ‘You’re crazy. Y’all in the same division. There’s no way it’s going to be possible,’” Queen said.
Nevertheless, “P.Q.” is embracing his status as the villain in Baltimore, going back and forth with former teammates and fans on X (formerly known as Twitter). After cornerback Marlon Humphrey said the grass might not be greener for Queen in Pittsburgh, Queen posted a video of himself watering a very healthy-looking lawn.
The banter continues. Humphrey, on a recent episode of his podcast, issued a warning to Queen: “What he doesn’t realize is, what he’s done? Oh, he better buckle up. He better buckle up, pal. He better buckle up.”
Of course, Humphrey also mentioned that he can’t actually hate Queen, since they are friends. And that’s generally where his heel turn starts to fall apart: Queen will play the role, but he remains close with many Ravens players. Plus, his departure wasn’t a shock; he’d seen it coming over the course of last season.
An amicable end
Both Queen and the Ravens expressed interest in an extension prior to last season; there just wasn’t a deal that would work for both sides.
“People want to jump to conclusions [and say], ‘Oh, [Simpson] is going to replace Patrick,’” general manager Eric DeCosta said last offseason. “I can tell you this. Patrick Queen had a helluva year last year. Patrick Queen is a very talented, in my mind, Pro Bowl-type linebacker. He’s going to have a great year this year.
“We want Patrick Queen on this team; we want to keep him on this team. We will, at some point, try to get him signed, hopefully, to an extension if we can.”
DeCosta was right about Queen becoming a Pro Bowl linebacker. He was wrong about getting a deal done.
Queen, undaunted, locked in and gave the Ravens his all, at times making plays while playing through considerable pain. He finished with a career-high 133 tackles for perhaps the NFL’s best defense, helping the Ravens to their best run at a Super Bowl since 2012.
But the more Queen established his value, the less likely it became that he’d get to stay. Because another player was taking off: Defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike hit 10 sacks in the first 12 games.
“I was already told that it was going to be down to me or Madubuike, and I kind of already knew that defensive line was the priority,” Queen said.
By the time the regular-season finale came around — coincidentally, that game against the Steelers — Queen sensed he’d be moving on once the season was over. Which meant he also knew the speculation that Simpson would replace him was likely true.
Even knowing that, Queen walked off the field and up to the postgame podium to sing Simpson’s praises.
“Incredible, I’m proud of him,” Queen said of the rookie after he finished with five tackles, including two for a loss, in his first extensive action all year. “Couldn’t be happier for him, a great dude. He had me nervous; we were going over all the calls and stuff, and he was just asking hella questions trying to figure out everything. But that’s why you’re seeing the way he’s played. He’s just on top of all his stuff, dynamic, might be faster than me. I just love the guy, great player.”
Two games later, Queen’s career as a Raven was done. When he went into the locker room to clear out his things, his noncommittal answers said everything.
“Yes. Of course,” Queen told reporters when asked whether he wanted to play for the Ravens again. “It’s where I started it at, so it would definitely be nice if I’m back. At the same time, I just have to do what’s best for me [and] do what’s best for my family. Then they have to do what’s best for them on the other side as well. Wherever that leads to, it’s up to God.”
Even then, Queen was mentally preparing to be on another team, with a different uniform hanging in a different locker the next season.
New beginnings
Queen says he started hearing from teams as soon as free agency started. He never expected to hear from the Steelers, but they were among the first to reach out.
“I was shocked, honestly,” Queen says. “I was shocked that they actually came after me and stuff, and it was just crazy, like, the whole transition.”
Once Queen got over the shock, he started to really consider what it would look like to play for a rival. He looked at the guys he’d play alongside — and the opportunity to grow with another traditionally strong defense.
The news broke March 12. Almost immediately, his ex-Ravens teammates reacted on social media, most notably quarterback Lamar Jackson, who tweeted a picture of SpongeBob SquarePants and wrote, in part, “You’re Dead to me.” Queen sat near Jackson in the locker room last year and says they were texting back and forth as free agency unfolded. He found that tweet and others from his Ravens friends hilarious.
He can’t wait to face his former teammates on the field, although he won’t actually go one-on-one with any who play defense. He’ll have to settle for taking on tight end Isaiah Likely, a matchup he’s anticipating.
“I like to talk trash, he likes to talk trash,” Queen says. “But he’s like more of a jester in how he talks trash.”
Queen knows how his decision has played with Ravens fans. Some, unburdened by the realization that the NFL is a business, took it personally. Some are sad but wish him the best. Still others are angry and bitter. Fans love to talk, and many have said Queen was only good last season because he played alongside Smith. And they’re already predicting that Simpson is going to be better.
Queen attributes his breakout season to personal growth and development, to great coaching from then-inside linebackers coach Zach Orr and to then-defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s scheme. He won’t deny that having a great partner in Smith helped.
Smith, for his part, says Queen was already on an upward trajectory before he arrived.
As for Simpson? Queen wants nothing but the best for him.
“I was always in his corner,” Queen said. “I just hope he’s better than what I was.”
As soon as he made his decision to leave Baltimore, Queen knew he would have to be the villain. He says he was ready to embrace that. But as much as he’s looking forward to antagonizing his former teammates on the field, he also misses them. They still text and play video games together.
“Being there for four years, you create bonds with people, and that’s the stuff that don’t die,” Queen says. “That stuff don’t go away.”
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the number of months from the Ravens’ January loss to the Steelers to the March announcement that Patrick Queen would be switching teams.
