Former Baltimore Ravens ILB Patrick Queen joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent this offseason, and the Ravens never seemed all too pressed about it, at least from the coaches and front office. They didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, and they paid another player at his position the largest ILB contract. This offseason, they opted to sign a different defender to a huge deal. So why do they act like they’re not going to miss an All-Pro playmaker?
“We’ve got a younger version of P.Q. [Patrick Queen] now, so that’s probably where we’re at with it”, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said yesterday, via the team’s website. A reporter asked him if with the loss of Queen they would use more dime defense before adding that. He did say that they could see more dime and that they have the players for it.
But he also made is clear, without elaboration, that they have “a younger version” of Patrick Queen—who is 24. We can reasonably assume that the younger queen is second-year Trenton Simpson, a third-round pick.
Simpson, who recently turned 23, played 46 defensive snaps for the Ravens last season, plus 258 on special teams. He finished the season with 13 tackles, two for loss, a sack, and a fumble recovery. While that’s nice, it’s not a lot to go on in terms of the Ravens replacing Patrick Queen.
Of course, NFL teams always have to replenish, refuel, reload, whatever you want to call it. The Pittsburgh Steelers used to be the masters of it, and Queen is just the latest for the Ravens. There is a reason that Baltimore has more compensatory picks than anybody else in NFL history.
Still, you don’t easily replace an All-Pro. Patrick Queen recorded 133 tackles with nine for loss, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception last year. He has had pretty consistent production throughout his career, but he has improved every season.
Who knows if the Ravens ever even considered re-signing Queen? Their priority was locking up DL Justin Madubuike, a task at which they succeeded. They still have Roquan Smith at inside linebacker, and perhaps they expect Smith to do for Simpson what he did for Queen.
While the Ravens moved on from Queen, the Steelers were more than happy to bring him in. As mentioned, he is still 24 years old, and they believe he can be a stud on this defense for many years. As young as he is, it is not unreasonable that he could play here for another eight to 10 seasons.