Doubts surround Patrick Queen heading into first season with Steelers

Patrick Queen is a doubted man. Only Queen and the Pittsburgh Steelers will believe until he takes the field in September and proves he can be effective without Roquan Smith.

The moment Queen went to the dark side and signed with his former team’s fiercest rival, the linebackers’ performances with and without Smith took center stage.

While Queen was ranked as the fourth-best off-ball linebacker by ESPN — two spots below Smith — some NFL veteran coaches feel he might be out of his comfort zone in Pittsburgh.

“Lack of instincts might show now that he’s not playing next to Superman [Roquan Smith],” an NFC executive told ESPN.

Queen enters his first Steelers training camp as the team’s top inside linebacker, where he was Robin to Smith’s Batman in Baltimore.

How Queen handles the pressure is vital to Pittsburgh’s interior defense in 2024.