Mar 12, 2024 By Will Graves 5 min read

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have found a running mate for outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.

Pittsburgh is luring inside linebacker Patrick Queen away from rival Baltimore. The Steelers and the second-team All-Pro have agreed to a three-year deal worth $41 million, two people with knowledge of the deal tell The Associated Press. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity the move can’t become official until the new league year begins Wednesday.

Queen, 24, is coming off a career-best season with Baltimore in 2023 when he had 133 tackles to go with 3 1/2 sacks and an interception. His arrival addresses a position the Steelers have struggled to fill since Ryan Shazier suffered a career-ending back injury in December 2017.

Pittsburgh’s inside linebacking group was decimated by injuries last fall, with Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander having their seasons cut short. Holcomb is recovering from knee surgery in early November while Alexander, who will become a free agent on Wednesday, tore an Achilles tendon in a win over Green Bay on Nov. 12.

The Steelers will slot Queen next to Elandon Roberts, who led the Steelers with 101 tackles last season. It also takes the pressure off H\olcomb to return by the season opener.

The move is the second splashy addition Pittsburgh has made since the tampering period began. Nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson has agreed to a one-year deal for the veteran minimum, thanks in part to the Denver Broncos picking up the lion’s share of the tab.

Grabbing Wilson on the cheap gave general manager Omar Khan the flexibility to land Queen, who is entering his prime and is the kind of three-down linebacker the Steelers have been searching for since Shazier injured his back in Cincinnati on Dec. 4, 2017.

The position has been a revolving door of sorts in recent years and Pittsburgh’s aggressive move to trade up into the top 10 in the 2019 draft to select Devin Bush failed spectacularly when Bush tore his ACL early in his second season and struggled to regain his form.

The list of veterans the Steelers have brought in to fill the void over the years includes Jon Bostic, Mark Barron, Avery Williamson, Joe Schobert and Myles Jack. None of them stuck, though Jack did return to the team in the middle of last season after being cut the previous spring in a salary cap move.

No player in that group, however, was as young or as accomplished as Queen when they signed. His arrival gives the Steelers the kind of versatile inside linebacking presence they’ll need in a division that includes Queen’s now-former teammate Lamar Jackson and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow.

Steelers WR Johnson traded to Carolina:

The Carolina Panthers gave quarterback Bryce Young the No. 1 wide receiver he’s been lacking, acquiring Diontae Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday for cornerback Donte Jackson.

The deal includes the teams swapping later-round picks in this year’s draft. The Steelers will get Carolina’s pick at No. 178 while the Panthers will get Pittsburgh’s selection at No. 240, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because it has not been made official.

Johnson, 28, has 391 receptions for 4,363 yards and 25 touchdowns in five seasons with the Steelers. He is entering the final season of a two-year extension he signed in August of 2022. Johnson, a Pro Bowler in 2021, is scheduled to make $10 million this season, with $3 million due as a roster bonus later this week.

The Panthers will gladly pay that bonus to give Young an elite route runner. Carolina finished last in the league in yards passing during a 2-15 season in 2023, with Adam Thielen often the only legitimate receiving threat on the field.

That changes with Johnson in the fold, though his numbers dipped a bit last season. He suffered a hamstring injury in the season opener and was limited to 13 games, one of the reasons he finished with a career-low 51 receptions. He was also overshadowed at times by George Pickens, who developed into the preferred downfield threat for quarterbacks Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.

The trade leaves Pickens as the most accomplished wide receiver on the Steelers’ roster after they released Allen Robinson II last Friday. Pittsburgh will likely look to add another big-time target in free agency or the draft after the club agreed to terms with nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson late Sunday night.

Notable wide receivers still looking for work as of Tuesday night included Cincinnati’s Tyler Boyd, who starred at the University of Pittsburgh before being drafted by the Bengals in 2016.

The Steelers needed help in the secondary after cutting veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson and safety Keanu Neal. The 28-year-old Jackson has started 76 games across six seasons with the Panthers, who took him in the second round of the 2018 draft.

Jackson has 14 career interceptions, although he didn’t have a pick last season. He provides an experienced corner opposite Joey Porter Jr., who had a standout rookie season in 2023.