Behind the Steel Curtain
A weekly Steelers (and AFC North) links roundup.
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for a weekly Steelers links roundup at BTSC. But first, let’s take a look around the AFC North:
Now, onto some Steelers news and discussion:
(From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko): “It wasn’t the season I wanted,” said Queen, who thinks he could’ve had six interceptions. “Just because I didn’t play the type of football I wanted to. You could blame it on a whole new system and all that other stuff, but at the end of the day, I’m a professional football player. That was Year 5. So, I think I should’ve been a little more well-prepared for that. I definitely take all accountability for that.”
Queen played nearly 100% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps in 2025, logging 129 combined tackles and six tackles for loss. He also earned his second career Pro Bowl appearance, but his season started slow and he didn’t play up to the biggest free agent contract in Steelers history.
Queen seems to agree.
The athletic linebacker seemed to find his stride later in the year, and he’s planning on a big leap in his second season with the Steelers. In his interview with the Post-Gazette, he talks about those raised expectations — but there’s even more about his passion for fishing if you read the entire article.
(From TribLive’s Tim Benz): The media kerfuffle over what Gov. Josh Shapiro said — or didn’t say — about public funding for football stadiums in Pennsylvania is just the beginning of what will undoubtedly be a hair-pulling, mind-numbing process until the Steelers and Eagles work out their new leases.
That’s whether they play in their current stadiums moving forward or elsewhere.
If you missed the easily avoidable consternation, a few quotes from Shapiro about the prospect of allocating state money for new stadiums were improperly framed on Sunday.
This is a nice column to read if you, like me, were a little confused by the AP story (now deleted by a number of outlets) about Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and state sports teams — the headlines claiming Shapiro said “no” to funding new stadiums didn’t exactly match the quotes from the governor.
While Shapiro did make it sound like he has far more pressing budget concerns than new stadiums for teams in Pennsylvania, he specifically said that it’s important for the Steelers and Eagles to “have outstanding places to play, that are welcoming for fans, that generate revenue for...
