Welcome to the Terrible Take, a daily segment telling Steelers nation what's on our mind.

I'm Alex Kizora.

I have planned my annual Terrible Take rant around a messy pro day schedule that is easy to fix and avoid.

Then the Steelers went ahead and made a massive splash to sign Patrick Queen

to a record setting three-year deal, a largest contract ever given by Pittsburgh to an outside

free agent. And though it's plenty of money, 41 million in total, it's a good deal for the Steelers,

really a great deal.

Despite Queen being at the head of a hot off-ball linebacker market,

in part due to it being a below average draft class,

his salary came in below what was expected, under 14 million

per year. That is not much more than what the likes of Jordan Brooks or Frankie Louvoo

receive on the open market.

And the structure of the deal has year two and year three roster bonuses.

That gives Pittsburgh flexibility if Queen is not the player the team hoped he'd be.

To get a below expected average yearly salary with that kind of payout for a 24-year-old at the top of

the market is surprising shocking really.

Queen is not the elite of the elite in terms of inside

linebackers in the NFL. He's not Fred Warner or now former teammate Roquon Smith. But he's played his best

ball the past two years and is a clear net upgrade for Pittsburgh. It's a great

deal and

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