The Steelers aren’t often among the most active teams in NFL free agency, but they bucked that trend in 2024.
Pittsburgh signed Patrick Queen to a three-year contract to serve as the top stand-up linebacker in Mike Tomlin’s defense.
Queen, 24, was a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after standing out on LSU’s national championship-winning defense. He spent the first four years of his career with the Ravens and averaged 115 tackles, three sacks, four pass defenses, and one interception per 17 games played in Baltimore.
The Steelers lacked a three-down linebacker next to Cole Holcomb, so Queen is expected to provide Pittsburgh’s defense with a big boost. That’s part of the reason they were willing to make him one of the highest-paid inside linebackers in the NFL.
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Queen signed a three-year deal worth $41 million to join the Steelers. That $41 million figure is the most ever dished out by the Steelers to a single external free agent.
Queen is guaranteed $13.84 million in 2024 thanks to an $11.59 million signing bonus and a fully guaranteed salary of $2.25 million.
Below is a full look at the structure of his contract, per Spotrac.com.
| Years | Salary | Bonuses | Cap hit | Dead cap |
| 2024 | $2,250,000 | $3,863,333 | $6,113,333 | $13,840,000 |
| 2025 | $7,160,000 | $10,533,333 | $17,693,333 | $7,726,667 |
| 2026 | $10,830,000 | $6,363,334 | $17,193,334 | $3,863,334 |
While Queen is under contract for three years, the Steelers can move on from him with ease in 2025 if he fails to live up to expectations. He will carry a dead cap hit of just over $7.7 million that season, so Pittsburgh can free nearly $10 million in cap space by releasing him.
Naturally, the Steelers hope that Queen will play well enough to play out the full duration of his contract at a high level, but the team has to be happy that they will have options if he proves to be a poor fit for Tomlin’s defense.
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As mentioned, the Steelers aren’t known for shelling out big bucks to external free agents. Their organizational philosophy is to draft and develop talent and then extend their top players when it comes time.
In recent years, the Steelers have shown a willingness to pay modest sums to plug holes in free agency. Including Queen, they have now signed six players to deals worth $20 million-plus in free agency.
Below is a look at those contracts:
| Year | Player | Position | Contract length | Total value |
| 2024 | Patrick Queen | LB | Three years | $41 million |
| 2017 | Joe Haden | CB | Three years | $27 million |
| 2019 | Steven Nelson | CB | Three years | $25.5 million |
| 2014 | Mike Mitchell | S | Five years | $25 million |
| 2001 | Jeff Hartings | C | Six years | $24.25 million |
| 2016 | Ladarius Green | TE | Four years | $20 million |
It shouldn’t surprise anyone to see that the Steelers have largely spent money on the defensive side of the ball. It also should not surprise anyone that they have typically targeted secondary help, as they struggled to cultivate talent at cornerback and safety during the 2010s.
Even so, the Steelers’ results in free agency have been hit or miss. That’s why they agree only to modest, reasonable pacts that tend not to set the team back too much if they don’t work out.
That’s what makes Queen’s contract a good fit for the Steelers. If the marriage doesn’t work, they can get out of it quickly.
