Steelers Now
A former defender of the Pittsburgh Steelers does not agree with the recent criticism of linebacker Patrick Queen.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen was put on blast by former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex during the team’s 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 13.
“He’s hurt, but I’m over the Patrick Queen experiment,” Essex wrote on X. “Simply put, he’s not a Steelers LB. He’s not (James) Farrior. He’s not (Lawrence) Timmons. He’s not (Ryan) Shazier. He doesn’t play with that disposition. We missed on that signing. And for our main rival to let him leave, shoulda been a sign.”
However, not everyone agrees with that sentiment. On Monday, another former Steelers player came to Queen’s defense amid the growing criticism.
“I promise you PQ isn’t the problem. This shit deeper than people at home know. It ain’t just play calls/scheme. I won’t get into that tho. I got respect for people in that building,” former Steelers defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko responded to Essex.
“However, all those linebackers you mentioned played in a different day and age of football. It doesn’t help that, the defense that PQ is playing in right now is the same defense decades ago that Farrior, Timmons, & Shazier played in. You can’t expect your best athletes to be the best athletes when you’re running the same stuff Jack lambert ran. This is the problem when you live in a world of banking on a TJ Watt Strip sack to save the day.”
I’ll say this strictly cause Pat gets a ton of heat. Is PQ my boy? Yeah. Could he play better? 100% he’ll agree with that too.
I promise you PQ isn’t the problem. This shit deeper than people at home know. It ain’t just play calls/scheme. I won’t get into that tho. I got… https://t.co/0Zzo3JF7JR
— Breiden Fehoko (@BreidenFehoko) December 1, 2025
It is a bit surprising Essex chose now to call out Queen. The two-time Pro Bowler was one of the few bright spots against the Bills, recording six tackles, one quarterback hit and a fumble recovery.
Nonetheless, he was part of the unit that allowed an historic performance by Buffalo, which finished the day with 249 yards rushing — the most ever for a road team at Acrisure Stadium.
The Steelers are certainly paying Queen to be more of a difference maker than he has been after giving him a three-year, $41 million contract in 2024, but it was also prevalent how much he means to the defense when he was sidelined with an injury on Sunday.
A first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, Queen has registered 672 tackles, 15.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, 26 passes defensed and four interceptions in his professional career.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Steelers DT Defends Patrick Queen Amid Criticism
