Two of the Ravens’ Professional Bowl defenders, defensive lineman Justin Madubuike and inside linebacker Patrick Queen, are as a result of hit free company in March. As Baltimore seems prone to put the franchise tag on Madubuike, there is probably not sufficient cap room to offer Queen the kind of contract he would command on the open market, and GM Eric DeCosta just lately steered that Queen would get the possibility to see what the market has in retailer for him.
“Patrick had an incredible season,” DeCosta mentioned at his end-of-season presser, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “I like Patrick. He’s certainly one of my favourite guys on the workforce. He’s put himself in a terrific place, doubtlessly, to hit the market and see what his worth is. You by no means know.”
The Ravens chosen Queen within the first spherical of the 2020 draft. Whereas the LSU product flashed at occasions throughout his first a number of years within the league, he didn’t really escape till Baltimore acquired fellow inside ‘backer Roquan Smith on the 2022 commerce deadline. With the elite Smith as a working mate, Queen lastly started dwelling as much as his draft standing and excelled down the stretch of the 2022 marketing campaign. Baltimore nonetheless declined the fifth-year possibility on Queen’s rookie deal. Extension talks between participant and workforce failed to supply an settlement, which led to some frustration on Queen’s half and which turned 2023 right into a platform 12 months.
Though Queen was named a trade candidate within the run-up to final 12 months’s draft and over the summer, the Ravens elected to let him end out his rookie contract, to the advantage of each events. In 17 video games (all begins) in 2023, Queen set a career-high with 133 tackles and graded out because the Twenty third-best linebacker within the league (eight spots behind Smith) per Professional Soccer Focus. Within the course of, he earned the primary Professional Bowl bid of his profession and set himself up properly for a profitable contract in his first foray into free company.
On condition that the Ravens have already dedicated a five-year, $100M contract to Smith, it was all the time unlikely that they might authorize a contract for Queen commensurate along with his market worth (which Spotrac estimates is $18.5M/year). That’s very true given the franchise’s penchant for drafting and growing high quality ILB expertise, and 2023 third-rounder Trenton Simpson is in line to take over Queen’s position ought to the latter discover a new employer in 2024.
DeCosta clearly didn’t rule out a reunion with Queen, however until his market doesn’t develop as anticipated, it presently seems as if the 24-year-old will likely be enjoying elsewhere in 2024.