The Steelers’ linebacker problem was laid bare in Week 4, and there was no hiding it by the end of a 27-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh’s defense missed tackles all afternoon, and the issues in the middle were impossible to ignore with Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson at the center of it.
Queen and Wilson were both brought in with the hope that they could steady things in a new system under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Instead, their third season working together may have been their roughest stretch yet.
The biggest swing in the game came in the second quarter, when Queen’s mistake helped set up Jaleel McLaughlin’s 28-yard rushing touchdown. Queen overpursued McLaughlin as he bounced outside, then cut back inside and upfield, and rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion finished the play by essentially taking Queen out of it.
Wilson had his own ugly moments. Midway through the third quarter, he got his hands on Raheim Sanders but still couldn’t bring him down as the Browns back spun away and fell forward. Wilson also blew a screen opportunity to Concepcion late in the second quarter, then slipped while chasing him from behind on a 25-yard gain.
Pro Football Focus charged Wilson with three missed tackles and Queen with two.
Queen’s inconsistency has become a defining part of his time in Pittsburgh. The Steelers signed him to a three-year, $41 million deal in March 2024, but his play in coverage and against the run has been uneven enough to leave him as a disappointment, not just in 2025 but across the life of that contract.
Wilson has shown flashes, especially as a rookie, and has long been praised for his coverage ability. But over the last two seasons, he hasn’t taken the kind of step Pittsburgh needed, and he looks more like a low-end starter or backup than a difference-maker.
The Steelers have bigger defensive problems than just these two, but the Browns game made one thing clear: Queen and Wilson are not giving Pittsburgh enough in the middle. The team doesn’t have an easy fix, either, since it’s no sure thing that Cole Holcomb or even Carson Bruener would be an upgrade if given more chances.
Still, the conclusion is hard to avoid. Pittsburgh cannot bring Queen back when his contract expires after this season, and the Steelers also have to seriously consider moving on from Wilson if he doesn’t improve.
In Other News...
Steelers Let A Young Starter Slip Away Over One Familiar Rule
Joey Porter Jr. had become one of the more intriguing young pieces on Pittsburghs defense, but contract talks never moved far enough to keep him in black and gold. The Steelers put a long-term extension on the table that averaged $28 million per year, yet the structure stopped short of guaranteeing money beyond the first year, a familiar line for a team that has long guarded itself against heavy long-term risk.
That approach eventually pushed Porter into a holdout and then out the door entirely, with Pittsburgh sending him to Dallas for a second-round pick and a conditional sixth-rounder. The Cowboys are expecting him to help once he gets past a back injury, while the Steelers are left to wonder whether staying loyal to one organizational rule cost them a young starter with real value. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Suddenly Have A Defensive Problem They May Need To Solve Fast
The Steelers defensive depth took a hit in Week 4, and it came in two different places at once. Derrick Harmon was carted off with a foot injury, while Jamel Dean was also slowed by an ankle issue and later seen in a walking boot, leaving Pittsburgh bracing for the possibility that both players could be sidelined for multiple weeks.
For a defense built on keeping pressure on opponents and surviving long stretches of the season, the timing is less than ideal. The staff is already weighing ways to cover Deans absence, with internal options and outside additions both on the table, and the next few days could shape how quickly the Steelers stabilize a unit that suddenly looks thinner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Tackle Panic May Be Missing The Bigger Long Term Story
The Steelers front has become an early talking point because the pass protection has been under real stress, with 13 sacks allowed through four games and a pressure rate that has left little room for comfort. Still, the line picture is not as simple as a weekly panic over the tackles, because Troy Fautanu has settled in at left tackle and shown steady improvement, giving Pittsburgh at least one spot where the trend line is moving the right way.
Max Iheanachors rookie season has been more uneven, but the first-round pick remains part of the long-term answer at right tackle even with some growing pains along the way. For a team trying to stabilize its offense, the bigger question may be whether the Steelers are looking at a temporary protection problem or a young tackle group that could matter more in the months ahead than it has in the early going. [Read more 🡒]