LATROBE, Pa. -- There are some pairings that just make sense.
When the Steelers signed Patrick Queen in free agency this past March, fans quickly fell in love with him -- and for good reason. Not only was this the best inside linebacker on the market, but the guy played for the Ravens. Stealing from the hated rival is always a bonus.
But, it in talking alone with him following Saturday's practice at Saint Vincent College, Queen let me know that the feeling is mutual.
"I want to be that legendary guy, a guy whose name leaves their mark on the game," Queen said. "Now I get a chance to do that here, and hopefully retire here."
Come again? "Retire here?" That's how much he's fallen in love with this organization so far?
"Yeah. When you want to be a great player, I don't think you want to just hop around from team to team," Queen said. "Some people do it. My problem is I don't want to be the guy that's hopping from team to team, having to learn new people, having to do this and that all over again. Everybody here's cool. I love everybody here already. It's a great organization. We're going to try to get that No. 7, and hopefully I can retire here."
My initial question wasn't anything like, "How much do you love playing here?" or "What are your long-term plans in Pittsburgh?" I simply asked how much pride he takes in being the leader of this linebacker room -- a position that has desperately needed a star player ever since that fateful night in Cincinnati nearly seven years ago. And that's the answer he gave.
Queen might be new to Pittsburgh, but he knows the stakes here. He knows that the inside linebacker position has been a weakness for this team for far too long, and it's really held back a defense that should be much better than it's been, especially since the best defensive player on the planet is employed here and has yet to win a bleeping playoff game.
Queen knows the expectations are high, but also knows each player in that linebacker room comes with some baggage. Payton Wilson fell substantially in the draft because of health concerns. Cole Holcomb may not ever be the same again after a horrific leg injury. And despite being pretty solid in coverage last season, Elandon Roberts has long been chalked up as just a run defender.
"We know the talk and everything. Everybody's got their doubters. The whole room, everybody's got their doubters somewhere," Queen said. "We're just looking to go out, support each other, play football, have a blast, knock some heads off and just do what we do best."
For Queen, the doubt begins and ends with a lot of naysayers claiming that he needs a player such as Roquan Smith next to him in order to be successful. Now, I've done my own digging into the film and see almost nothing to find any merit to that theory. Queen earned his second team All-Pro nomination last season because he was a damn good linebacker, not because he was a damn good Robin to Smith's Batman.
But that's where to find the origin of Queen's idea -- that he wants to be "that legendary guy" and cement his legacy somewhere. For a while, it looked like that might not happen.
"It was rough, my first two years coming into the league," Queen said. "I had to hone in on (God), hone in on my skills and work at it. Times got rough and I got depressed about it. I had to dig myself up out of that hole. Ro came in. His words of wisdom helped me. Ever since then, I just took off. Now, it's just me filling in to what I was supposed to be."
It's not that Smith didn't have an impact on Queen. He obviously did. But, this notion that Queen somehow needs someone such as Smith as a crutch is what he's trying to disprove.
And, as far as practices at Saint Vincent College go, he's very much looking the part. He's looked sharp as ever, especially when covering Pat Freiermuth or Jaylen Warren out of the backfield. He's been making plays every day, and he's doing it with either Roberts or Wilson by his side.
Now, Queen hasn't even played a snap in a stadium donning the black and gold just yet, so I won't make any bold predictions about how everything will play out. At the same time, Queen could have chosen anywhere to carve out his own legacy. He could've gotten more money elsewhere than the three-year, $41-million contract the Steelers paid him.
But, he chose to come here. He chose this organization. On this day, before even playing a snap in a stadium donning the black and gold just yet, he's already laid out plans to be a Steeler for life. And, he just so happened to do it on the same day the next Hall of Honor class was revealed.
If all of this works out for both parties, maybe he'll get his own place in Steelers lore.
