Patrick Queen shocked many when he jumped from the Ravens to the rival Steelers this offseason. And apparently Pittsburgh did it without offering the Pro Bowl LB the most money.
In a recent interview with Steelers_DB, Queen revealed that he turned down bigger offers so that he could wear the Black and Gold. Explaining:
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 rebuilt 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.
Queen signed a three-year, $41 million deal with the Steelers. The first year of which is fully guaranteed. Outside of that, there are no guarantees past 2024. Which essentially works out to it being a one-year contract with team options for the next two seasons.
Queen logged a career-high 133 tackles last in 2023 along with 3.5 sacks, an interception and six passes defensed.
He’ll now aim to make a similar impact on Mike Tomlin’s defense who have been searching for more consistency at the inside linebacker spot.