Patrick Queen says it was 'no brainer' to leave Ravens to join Steelers
This is some tasty trash talk so many months from the start of regular season. Patrick Queen recently revealed why he left Baltimore to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And part of it is unrelated to football.
In an interview with The Athletic, Queen explained his decision to sign with the Steelers and potential blowback from Ravens fans.
“I don’t care … it’s the truth,” Queen said. “I am not saying anything bad about them, I am just speaking the truth.”
“It was a no-brainer,” Queen said of signing with the Steelers. “At the end of the day, money makes you happy, but you also have to win to be happy. I’d rather win and be happy than be miserable with a lot of money.”
And the move to the Steelers, Queen said, mostly has to do with … food. Gulp.
“It’s a better atmosphere here for me,” Queen said. “Everybody is cool, the people are cool, the players are cool and the food spots are better. I am a big food guy — I love food. I am more of a true food guy rather than a seafood guy (and) I like meat and stuff like that. It’s just a better atmosphere for me here.”
So while Baltimore has its crab cakes, Pittsburgh has its steaks. And the Steelers and Ravens also are still huge AFC North divisional rivals. Expect the heat to go up a notch this fall.
Queen is professing is love to the Steelers on social media. Late last month, he posted:
“Gotta love it!” as a caption for a gallery showing Queen in his new No. 6 yellow and black practice jersey.
Queen was most significant Steelers signing on defense
The Steelers made huge news this off-season with some big free-agent signings. Queen was one of the biggest. Pittsburgh also added Russell Wilson after he was released by the Broncos. Then there was Justin Fields, who the Steelers acquired, via trade, from the Chicago Bears.
Pittsburgh made Queen the fifth-highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL when they gave him a three-year, $41 million deal. The former LSU star and first-rounder from 2020 should give the Steelers defense a significant presence in the middle.
In fact, NFL analysts suggest that Queen could be the Steelers’ first really good inside linebacker since Ryan Shazier. Queen said he watched Shazier, the former Ohio State Buckeye and Steelers first-rounder, play.
“I grew up watching that stuff, watching fast linebackers who can run and hit,” Queen said of Shazier. “He is the type of guy I used to watch. We can do it all — run, hit, cover. Anything you want us to do, we can provide our team with that. I model my game a lot off of what he was able to do. When it comes to his game, he was probably the top three to watch.”