Getty Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith sent a message to new Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen.
There’s no love lost between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. As a result, it’s natural to believe there will be ill-will between new Steelers linebackers Patrick Queen and his former Baltimore teammates. But that doesn’t appear to be the case for Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith.
While speaking to reporters about his former teammate on April 17, Smith gave Queen his best wishes. But Smith also gave Queen a warning of sorts.
“I’m happy for him,” Smith said. “I’m wishing him all the best. It’ll be good to see him twice a year, he’s still my guy.
“But war is war. That’s what it is.”
Queen played the first four years of his career with the Ravens. Baltimore drafted him at No. 28 overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
For the past season and a half, Queen started alongside Smith. The Ravens acquired Smith at the 2022 NFL trade deadline from the Chicago Bears.
Queen made second-team All-Pro and the Pro Bowl during 2023. He posted 133 combined tackles, including 9 tackles for loss and 6 quarterback hits. Queen also had 3.5 sacks, 6 pass defenses and 1 interception in 17 games.
Roquan Smith Plans to Tear Down Patrick Queen Picture in Ravens LB Room
If it really bothers Smith that Queen signed with Baltimore’s biggest rival, he didn’t show it very much on April 17. In fact, Smith said, “it’s not weird at all” to a question about Queen joining the Steelers
However, Smith did have jokes for his former teammate. The Ravens linebacker suggested he needs to shed any memory of Queen playing in Baltimore.
“I gotta tear down his picture in the linebacker room,” Smith told reporters with a smile. “We have linebackers all over the wall, so I probably need to make a video of me punching it or something like that.”
Smith pretty much wore a smile on his face the entire time he spoke about Queen to reporters on April 17.
What Queen Will Bring to the Steelers
To sign Queen, the Steelers offered him the most lucrative contract of any free agent in team history. With that historic deal, the hope is Queen will be the fast, instinctive inside linebacker the Steelers have been missing from their defense since Ryan Shazier’s spinal injury.
In each of his four NFL seasons, Queen has recorded at least 98 combined tackles. He’s also had 9 tackles for loss or more every year.
The concern with Queen, if there is any, is whether he can be an All-Pro on his own. He starred as a rookie, finishing third for Rookie Defensive Player of the Year in 2020. But he didn’t progress into an All Pro until playing with Smith, who already arrived in Baltimore as a 2-time All-Pro.
In Pittsburgh, the Steelers will be counting on Queen being the team’s top linebacker.
Veteran Elandon Roberts will likely start opposite Queen to at least begin the 2024 season. Roberts led the Steelers with 101 combined tackles last season.
The Steelers hope to get back linebacker Cole Holcomb as well. Holcomb left Week 9 with a severe knee injury last season. It is not yet known when he could return.
Mark Robinson and Tyler Murray are the other inside linebacker currently on the Steelers roster.