Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen ended up switching sides in the AFC north rivalry over the offseason going from the Baltimore Ravens to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It turns out from comments made at OTAs that he turned down more money from elsewhere to do so. Queen hit the open market in March coming off of a Pro Bowl bid and a second team All Pro nomination both firsts in his career, and he took a three year, $41 million deal to join the Steelers because he believes he can win a championship there with all of the moves the Steelers have made so far.
Pittsburgh Steelers Linebacker Patrick Queen Had This To Say At OTAs About Joining The Team And Taking A Pay Cut
“From all the 15 teams that I was talking to, it came down to like five at the end”, It was just like five teams in the mix. Some of them were offering some $17 (Million per year). After that it was like, I have a chance to either go win or I have a chance to get paid. For me, the difference was like $4 or $5 million. I’m looking at it like, I’ve never been on a losing team before, and then I also don’t want to be a part of anything being rebuild because I’m trying to win now. I’m really just trying to win right now, get that out the way and then get paid later.”
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh have yet to suffer a losing season with head coach Mike Tomlin who’s been coaching the Steelers for 17 years now, but they’ve also failed to rise to the next level for over half a decade now. The Steelers haven’t won the AFC North since 2018 and never went beyond the wild-card round during that span. The focus this offseason has been to avoid the same result once again. Queen represents the team’s big-ticket addition on defense, while the two newcomers Russell Wilson and Justin Fields should find stellar protection behind an offensive line that added new talent from the draft.
