It’s not hard to see that a little help on defense could make a huge difference in the Buffalo Bills‘ ultimate goal this season — winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler named the Bills the “Top Trade Fit” for a player who could make that difference on defense: Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker Patrick Queen, an NFL All-Pro and 2-time Pro Bowler.
“Rumors of a Queen trade persisted in the spring, with the Cowboys among teams that checked on his availability,” Fowler wrote on October 28. “He’s also a 2027 free agent. But the Steelers’ status as a 5-2 team likely keeps him in Pittsburgh.”
Queen is in the final season of the 3-year, $41 million contract he signed with the Steelers before the 2024 season.
“Queen is a run-and-hit defender with lateral pursuit speed,” ESPN’s Matt Bowen wrote. “He can track the ball on the perimeter and close quickly on underneath throws as a zone defender. Queen struggles at times as a run defender in tight quarters, and his route identification can improve, but he has had at least 115 tackles in each of his four previous seasons. And he has 26 pass breakups over the past five years.”
Superstar LB on College Football’s Greatest Team
Queen was the defensive star on arguably the greatest college football team of all time — the undefeated 2019 LSU Tigers alongside fellow future NFL stars like Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase.
Queen was one of seven eventual 1st-round picks on that LSU team, going No. 28 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft to the Baltimore Ravens.
Throughout his career, it’s hard to categorize Queen as anything but utterly dominant — and one of the most durable defensive players in NFL history. Since his three seasons at LSU beginning in 2017, Queen has played 155 consecutive games, including 115 NFL regular-season and playoff games with 114 starts.
Bills Have Hot Hand Coming Off Bye Week
No team in the NFL is hotter than the Bills right now after they bounced back from a disappointing home loss to the New England Patriots in Week 4 with consecutive road wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders before their bye in Week 7.
The Bills return from their bye with a home game against the down-on-their-luck Baltimore Ravens in Week 8, then hit the road to face the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings in a primetime Monday Night Football showdown in Week 9.
There’s one interesting schedule quirk for the Bills people should take note of — out of their final eight regular-season games, four of those games are against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, who have a combined record of 3-10.
Buffalo Bills Called ‘Top Trade Fit’ for $41 Million Pro Bowl LB