Halicke: Slight of Queen's a perfect wrinkle in Steelers-Ravens rivalry taken on the South Side (Steelers)

GREG MACAFEE / DKPS

Patrick Queen during Wednesday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

When the NFL schedule was dropped in May, Patrick Queen had Nov. 17 circled on his calendar. Two months prior, he had traded in black and purple for black and gold, joining the select players who have played on both sides of the Steelers-Ravens rivalry.

The reason Queen highlighted the first matchup against his former team? No, it wasn't because of the lore that is Steelers vs. Ravens. It's because after playing for them during his first four NFL seasons, they never offered him a contract to return:


"I wasn't offered to go back. I don't know if I said that or not, put that in the public or not. I wasn't wanted back. I didn't get an offer back," Queen said. "It's definitely upsetting, being there for four years and the bond that you grow with your teammates and stuff. The first few months, you definitely go through those feelings. And now after playing games, you just want to win games. You want to win with your new teammates. You want to bond with those guys. Everything that you do as far as the organization that you're at now. I will have feelings, obviously. Anybody in my position would this week. Just take it one day at a time and whatever happens, happens."

Queen downplayed things a bit, saying it's not that big of a deal and that he's now over it. But, it took him a little while to get over it. In fact, he said it took him until the end of August or early September to finish working through everything.

That explains why during training camp, he told me he wants to retire as a Steeler. It also puts the words he said back in March, when he said he wanted to be the villain in this rivalry, in a whole new light.

"I'm going to be that guy. I hate that I got to be that way, but it is what it is," Queen said during his introductory press conference in March. "I'm where I want to be, where I'm happy a little right now. I'm where I am wanted."

Now, with the first matchup against the Ravens just days away, when he was asked about wanting to be the villain, he simply replied, "I'm whatever they want to call me."

Queen has a chance to write his own name in this history of this rivalry. According to Pro Football Reference, Queen is one of 27 players to have played at least one NFL game for both the Steelers and Ravens. While that list has some names you might not recognize, there are several big-name players, including Rod Woodson, Carnell Lake, Kordell Stewart, Le'Veon Bell, Alejandro Villanueva, Mike Wallace, Eric Green, Bam Morris and Jacoby Jones. Just this year, Queen, DeShon Elliott, Jeremiah Moon and Diontae Johnson all joined that list.

But what do the vast majority of those players have in common? With the exception of Queen, Jones, Moon and Elliott, they were Steelers first. And with the only true exception of Woodson, they all were, dare I say, nonexistent once they went to Baltimore. Wallace had a couple of nice seasons. Villanueva made more noise with his mouth than he did with his play.

In theory, Queen could be the first player to be great with Baltimore then go to Pittsburgh and be great, as well. That's his goal. That's what he's been focused on. Even when he told me he wanted to retire as Steeler, he focused on wanting to build a legacy as a guy who doesn't bounce around. And, he also definitely wanted to shed the idea that he needs to be somebody else's Robin.

That was the narrative surrounding Queen when he left Baltimore. That the only reason his play elevated over his last two seasons in Baltimore, including being named second team All-Pro in 2023, was because Roquan Smith was acquired from the Bears.

While Queen got off to a slow start with the Steelers, he's turned in some of his best football in recent weeks. He racked up 13 tackles in the win over the Raiders and he was all over the field in Sunday's win over the Commanders with a team-high seven tackles, two tackles for loss and one pass defensed.

"In the past few games this season, there were opportunities for me to make plays and I just didn't make them," Queen said. "That's totally on me. I can't even say that's coming with being more comfortable in the defense. It was just plays that I should have made. I had to look in the mirror and say I had to get back to myself. I've been getting better these last few weeks. I've just gotta raise that standard."

It's a heck of a time to be turning it on. The Steelers are about to enter an eight-game stretch that includes all six divisional matchups, which will likely decide the outcome of their season.

That's why Nov. 17 is an important date to Queen now. Back in May, it was because he was slighted by a franchise for which he gave everything. Now, it's because he's a Steeler. He knows the gravity of this matchup. He's been on the Ravens side of it. Now, it's his turn to leave his mark on the Steelers side, which could be a first in this storied rivalry.

But, don't worry. He's still going to going in with a chip on his shoulder. That fire still burns.

"These are two places that know how to play great football, physical football, athletic football," Queen said. "A whole lot of trash talking. A whole lot of hitting. That's basically it. There's not going to be a whole lot of trick stuff going on. We're going to line up and see who lasts the longest."

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