Welcome to the terrible take and many podcasts telling Steelers nation what's in our mind.

I'm Josh Carney.

No matter what way you try and slice it, the three-year 41 million dollar deal in pre-agency for

linebacker Patrick Queen is a great bit of business for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It plugs a massive hole on the roster inside linebacker, gives the Steelers a young sideline- sideline playmaker at the position and most importantly

it's an incredibly affordable deal.

Queen's deal came in well below market value projections.

And the fact that the Steelers can largely get out of it ahead of the 20-25 season

with very little financial penalty makes it all the better.

Yet, for some reason there is a lot of

skepticism regarding Queen overall with questions of if he was nothing more than a

product of playing next to Roquo and Smith.

Yes, Smith is an elite-level linebacker.

He's earned back-to-back first team all-pro accolades in Baltimore.

It is in that next tier behind San Francisco's Fred Warner for best

linebacker in football.

That much is true.

Smith is the rising tide that lifts all boats defensively. That means everyone around him. But here's the thing. During

his time in Chicago, not one linebacker that played next to him played as well as Queen has the last two years.

Period.

Not Danny Trevathan, not Nick Quaykowski, not Alec Ogletree, not Nicholas Morrow.

All are or were solid veterans in the NFL and all played next to Smith in Chicago.

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