Steelers LB Patrick Queen has some old scores to settle with the Ravens

PITTSBURGH — Players switching sides in rivalries isn’t a new phenomenon. Babe Ruth famously went from the Red Sox to the Yankees more than 100 years ago. The advent of free agency has made it more prevalent in modern-day sports, but it can still be strange watching familiar faces cross enemy lines.

In the NFL, Charles Haley and Deion Sanders left the 49ers to sign with the Cowboys. Brett Favre went from the Packers to the Vikings. And much to chagrin of the late Dan Rooney, Rod Woodson became a Raven after leaving the Steelers.

Now it’s Patrick Queen’s turn to switch sides in one of the NFL’s best rivalries when the Steelers play host to the Ravens on Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium.

Queen signed a three-year, $41 million free agent contract with the Steelers in March after the Ravens gave him the cold shoulder after last season ended.

“I wasn’t offered to go back,” Queen said Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t know if I ever put that out there in the public or not. I wasn’t offered back. It was definitely kind of upsetting, being there for four years and the bond you grow with your teammates.”

It’s the perfect storyline for “Hard Knocks,” the HBO documentary series that is chronicling the AFC North for an in-season feature that is set to premiere next month.

Even though the Ravens declined the fifth-year option on Queen’s rookie contract in May 2023, it’s clear Queen expected better treatment from the Ravens. After the Ravens declined his option, he went out and had his best season, making 133 tackles while earning second-team All-Pro honors.

It took Queen a while to process his feelings of being snubbed by the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2020 draft. He still has not spoken to coach John Harbaugh or general manager Eric DeCosta. He said he wasn’t completely over his Baltimore exit until August or September.

“Even though I signed here, you still go through those feelings,” Queen said, “knowing a long four years that you put in, blood, sweat and tears over there, the guys you bonded with, built close relationships with.

“You put your body on the line every single time you went out there even when you could barely move your leg or whatever the injury might have been. You try to go out there and do your best for your team. I definitely did feel a certain type of way after the whole situation, but I’m over it now.”

Both teams are thriving this season. The Steelers (7-2) hold a half-game lead over the Ravens (7-3) entering the game. For Queen, it’s not a surprise the division title is going to come down to these two teams. He’s seen the series from both sides, and he said the two franchises are mirror images in a lot of ways.

"It’s two places that know how to play great football, physical football, bloody football,” Queen said. “It’s a whole lot of trash talking, a lot of hitting. There’s not going to be a lot of trick stuff going on. We’re going to line up and see who lasts the longest.”

The Steelers have won seven of the past eight games against the Ravens. All eight of those contests were decided by seven points or fewer.

And all of them were heated.

Queen and Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick nearly got into a fight at midfield before one of the games.

“In Baltimore, the linebackers warm up on the 50,” Queen said. “Every time I did my rep, I’d see Minkah standing right there. He just kept looking, swaying back and forth. I just had enough of him. That’s how the whole altercation started. We got in each other’s faces and just went back and forth.”

It’s a good bet the HBO cameras will be trained on Queen and his interactions with his old teammates on Sunday. Trash talking is a way of life in this rivalry, and Queen is never shy with his words.

“The words that I use probably wouldn’t be good for right now,” Queen said. “I can’t change who I am. At the end of the day, I talk trash.

“I try to keep it respectful unless it’s someone I really don’t like. Then I might have some words I’d like to take back after the fact. But that’s just me.”

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