The leadership at the very top for the Pittsburgh Steelers will remain the same entering 2026. But with a head coaching change, the team could still be heading toward a revamped roster next season.
What that means for veterans such as linebacker Patrick Queen remains to be seen. But on Tuesday, Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker named Queen one of his 15 offseason trade candidates.
“The Steelers won’t have Mike Tomlin roaming the sidelines in 2026, bringing forth another landmark change to the NFL. Pittsburgh’s new coach will have to sort out quandaries on both sides of the ball, including what to do with Queen,” wrote Locker.
“When the Steelers invested nearly record money in Queen two offseasons ago, the team figured it had made a splash to bolster a good defense. Instead, that $41 million investment hasn’t been nearly worth the return. Since 2024, Queen has missed the most tackles in the league (53) and owns a 48.0 overall PFF grade, the second-worst among 18 linebackers to play 2,000 or more snaps in that span.
“Queen is set to enter the 2026 campaign on an expiring deal. With the Steelers needing better linebacker play, getting his contract off the books would make sense.”
The Steelers signed Queen to a 3-year, $41 million contract in March 2024. Next season, Queen will have a $10.83 million base salary and approximately $17.2 million cap hit.
According to Overthecap, the Steelers can save $13.33 million against the cap if they trade the linebacker this offseason.
The cap savings is the same whether the Steelers would trade Queen before or after June 1.
Why the Steelers Could Cut Ties With LB Patrick Queen
The Steelers have really been looking for stronger linebacker play since Ryan Shazier suffered his horrific spinal injury in December 2017. Signing Queen to the largest free agent contract in team history was just the latest attempt.
Locker might have been a little hard on Queen with his assessment of the linebacker’s play. At times, Queen showcased his stardom the past two years.
But he’s been inconsistent.
The linebacker was anything but inconsistent during his final season with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023. During that season, he posted 133 combined tackles, including nine for loss on his way to second-team All-Pro honors.
In 2024, Queen made the Pro Bowl with the Steelers. He didn’t receive any post-season accolades for 2025.
In 17 games, Queen made 120 combined tackles, including eight for loss. He also had five quarterback hits, four pass defenses and one sack during 2025.
Queen has played well enough that a contender with a linebacker need could offer a mid-to-late draft pick for the 26-year-old. With such a deal, the Steelers would create cap room and have an opportunity to select another player that the team’s next head coach could then mold to his own liking.
Steelers Linebacker Depth Entering 2026
No defender played more snaps for the Steelers the past two years than Queen. In fact, he led the team in defensive snaps during 2024 and 2025.
So, if the Steelers are serious about moving on from the veteran linebacker, they will have find a way to replace more than 1,000 defensive snaps.
Fellow linebackers Payton Wilson and Malik Harrison are each under contract for 2026. Another former Ravens linebacker, Harrison missed six contests because of injury this past season.
Harrison could easily play more next fall.
But the Steelers platooned those two linebackers. Wilson played in passing situations while Harrison was generally the run-stopper on early downs.
If the Steelers ship Queen out of town, then Wilson and Harrison may need to play at the same time.
The team could turn to 2025 seventh-rounder Carson Bruener for a larger role next season. But Bruener only played one defensive snap as a rookie. He seems more suited to continue concentrating on special teams.
Re-signing Cole Holcomb is another option. However, Holcomb suffered a serious knee injury in November 2023 and didn’t play in 2024. During 2025, he played a career-low 198 defensive snaps.
Given his injury, Holcomb might not be the answer to replace Queen either. But the Steelers will have to add someone at linebacker if they are going to shop Queen on the trade market.
Steelers $41 Million Former All-Pro Pegged Offseason Trade Candidate