After missing the first week of OTAs, Patrick Queen is back on the South Side, participating in the voluntary workouts.
He's heading into the final year of his contract, which begs the question of if he and the Steelers have had any conversation about an extension:
"It was talks here and there. Nothing crazy," Queen said after Thursday's OTA at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "Obviously, I saw the whole charade that went on in the offseason. But, it was talks. No movement either way. At the end of the day, they got business to handle. I got business to handle. My business is go out there and play the best football I can and put myself in a good position, put our team in a good position so that we both can be successful."
Speculation ran rampant on social media over the Steelers wanting to trade Queen, mainly because of reported interest from other teams, specifically the Cowboys, calling about a potential trade. There was also a lot of speculation that the Steelers would dump Queen due to the $10.83 million that could be saved by cutting him.
While Queen did say there were some things that were true in all the speculation, he downplayed a lot of it as "people rambling" and people wanting to get stuff out there and "hope to be right."
"There were very slim facts out there," Queen said. "I'll leave it at that."
What we do know is there hasn't been any extension, and doesn't appear there'll be one any time soon. But that doesn't mean there can't be a way for both parties to make things work in 2026, which could lead to an extension later on. Queen said he's still open to the idea of playing for the Steelers beyond the 2026 season.
"Yeah, I don't see why not. It's about to be my third year here. I love the guys around the locker room. I love the coaches already," Queen said. "If they do want to extend, cool. If not, cool. At the end of the day, it's a business. I've got my business to handle. They've got their business to handle. The better I play, the better we both will be. That's all I care about."
For now, Queen is focused on preparing for the 2026 season. It's a whole new regime, which means getting to learn a whole new defense, too. Queen's been working diligently to learn the new system, which even included some conversations with Elandon Roberts about Patrick Graham, since the former Steeler played under Graham in Las Vegas last season.
As all players are doing, Queen wouldn't get into a lot of specific changes, but noted that Graham is much more hands on.
"Yeah, extremely," Queen said with a laugh. "But that's what you like. For everyone to be on the same page, for everyone to see everything and just get the understanding down on how it needs to be. That's what you want in a (defensive coordinator)."
Queen's approach seems to be a healthy one, and it could be beneficial for both parties. If he plays to his ceiling, the Steelers get themselves a dynamic player in the middle of their defense while Queen sets himself up for another healthy contract.
THE ASYLUM
Queen's future undecided, focus fully toward 2026
After missing the first week of OTAs, Patrick Queen is back on the South Side, participating in the voluntary workouts.
He's heading into the final year of his contract, which begs the question of if he and the Steelers have had any conversation about an extension:
"It was talks here and there. Nothing crazy," Queen said after Thursday's OTA at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "Obviously, I saw the whole charade that went on in the offseason. But, it was talks. No movement either way. At the end of the day, they got business to handle. I got business to handle. My business is go out there and play the best football I can and put myself in a good position, put our team in a good position so that we both can be successful."
Speculation ran rampant on social media over the Steelers wanting to trade Queen, mainly because of reported interest from other teams, specifically the Cowboys, calling about a potential trade. There was also a lot of speculation that the Steelers would dump Queen due to the $10.83 million that could be saved by cutting him.
While Queen did say there were some things that were true in all the speculation, he downplayed a lot of it as "people rambling" and people wanting to get stuff out there and "hope to be right."
"There were very slim facts out there," Queen said. "I'll leave it at that."
What we do know is there hasn't been any extension, and doesn't appear there'll be one any time soon. But that doesn't mean there can't be a way for both parties to make things work in 2026, which could lead to an extension later on. Queen said he's still open to the idea of playing for the Steelers beyond the 2026 season.
"Yeah, I don't see why not. It's about to be my third year here. I love the guys around the locker room. I love the coaches already," Queen said. "If they do want to extend, cool. If not, cool. At the end of the day, it's a business. I've got my business to handle. They've got their business to handle. The better I play, the better we both will be. That's all I care about."
For now, Queen is focused on preparing for the 2026 season. It's a whole new regime, which means getting to learn a whole new defense, too. Queen's been working diligently to learn the new system, which even included some conversations with Elandon Roberts about Patrick Graham, since the former Steeler played under Graham in Las Vegas last season.
As all players are doing, Queen wouldn't get into a lot of specific changes, but noted that Graham is much more hands on.
"Yeah, extremely," Queen said with a laugh. "But that's what you like. For everyone to be on the same page, for everyone to see everything and just get the understanding down on how it needs to be. That's what you want in a (defensive coordinator)."
Queen's approach seems to be a healthy one, and it could be beneficial for both parties. If he plays to his ceiling, the Steelers get themselves a dynamic player in the middle of their defense while Queen sets himself up for another healthy contract.
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