NFL executives believe the Steelers' poaching of Ravens Pro Bowler is going to pay dividends

When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed LB Patrick Queen to the largest free agent deal in franchise history, many were taken aback.

Not because of the player or the money, but because it bucked tradition in Pittsburgh, something GM Omar Khan is beginning to do.

According to Khan's peers, they loved the addition for Pittsburgh but noted the subtraction for the Baltimore Ravens as potentially even more impactful.

NFL Execs Love The Queen Move

Continuing his annual survey of the league, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN released the top 10 inside linebackers in the NFL as voted on by general managers, head coaches, scouts, and other personnel members.

Queen came in fourth in the rankings and was noted as an excellent addition by one executive.

Pittsburgh’s linebacker tradition is rich, but the team rarely spends top dollar in free agency. By giving Queen a three-year, $41 million deal in March, Pittsburgh effectively plucked a star out of rival Baltimore while reimagining the middle of its defense. Queen did a little bit of everything for Baltimore, racking up 133 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 6 pass deflections. Closing speed and blitzing ability. He’ll make a big impact on Pittsburgh’s defense.

- Anonymous executive via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler

Queen, whose fifth-year was option declined before the 2023 season, played as you would expect from a first-rounder in a contract year, and it resulted in his best season as a pro.

He recorded a career-high 133 tackles and added six pass breakups and 3.5 sacks while earning Pro Bowl honors and being named to the AP All-Pro second team.

That spawned Pittsburgh's interest to continue to refine their defense and more specifically, their LB corps. Queen had no problems jumping ship and joining a division rival, even saying he's in a better spot now .

“It’s fun, it is everything that you would expect coming over to an organization like this,” Queen told reporters in May. “Right now we are just building the foundation of everything and trying to get the feel for everybody, trying to get the feel of the coaches, how things are run here. Right now it is going good.”

So for Queen, the grass is greener in Pittsburgh, and the rest of the NFL has his back in that line of thinking heading into 2024.

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