It wasn't long ago that trading Patrick Queen felt like the right decision for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In a contract year, and with all of his struggles for the vast majority of his time with the Steelers, sending Queen elsewhere at the trade deadline this season was firmly in the cards just a matter of weeks ago.
Now, however, Queen has put together his best string of performances in Pittsburgh amidst the team's four-game win streak and has become incredibly valuable to a defense that is establishing itself as one of the league's premier units.
Queen was viewed as a bounce-back candidate throughout the offseason once Mike McCarthy was hired as the Steelers' head coach and brought Patrick Graham with him as his defensive coordinator.
Mike Tomlin's system never quite seemed to suit Queen, and it showed with how he struggled over his first two years with the black and gold.
Queen's 32 missed tackles led the NFL in 2025 ( per Pro Football Focus ), and he became a liability in coverage as well.
The 27-year-old wasn't necessarily a superstar over the first four seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens, but he regressed to a noticeable degree upon landing with Pittsburgh.
It has taken Queen some time to acclimate to Graham's system, and while the first four weeks of the season or so were rough, the former Pro Bowler has finally found his footing with the Steelers.
Nov 1, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers Payton Wilson (41) and Patrick Queen (6) celebrate a sack by Queen against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After showing real signs of turning things around in Week 6's comeback win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Queen followed that outing up with a fantastic performance in Week 7's win over the New Orleans Saints, a game in which he sacked Tyler Shough on his last dropback of the day while also playing a huge role in limiting the Saints to 18 yards on 17 carries.
It was more of the same from Queen in Week 8's blowout victory over the Cleveland Browns , as he recorded a new single-game career high of 1.5 sacks with a pass deflection and a team-high 12 tackles while helping hold Pittsburgh's AFC North rivals to 34 yards on 15 rushing attempts.
There was palpable trade buzz surrounding Queen in the offseason, with the Dallas Cowboys reportedly pursuing him in March, though those talks didn't end up leading anywhere.
As previously noted too, Queen was floated as a potential trade candidate just a handful of weeks ago after his underwhelming start to the year.
At the time, the Steelers' signing of Elandon Roberts to their practice squad on October 12 felt like it could've led to Queen losing snaps to the former.
Roberts has yet to be elevated by Pittsburgh, though, and Queen has since had a much-needed resurgence that's essentially removed any doubt about his viability as a starter.
Not only that, but Queen has played at as high of a level as he has in years over the past two or three weeks as the Steelers have gained sole possession of first place in the AFC North at 6-2 as they begin their Week 9 bye.
As a result, Queen should no longer be available for trade and is a key piece of Pittsburgh's defense at inside linebacker next to Payton Wilson, who has also made some strides this season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/steelers/onsi as Steelers Can't Trade Patrick Queen Now .
