The NFL draft is a fun moment for some, but it is a fresh crop of players coming to take the job of veterans on the other end. An example from the Baltimore Ravens last season would be Chuck Clark. When the Ravens drafted Kyle Hamilton it was clear that Clark did not have much time left on the team, and he was traded a couple of months ago.
One player who may be seeing himself in a similar scenario this season is Patrick Queen.
Patrick Queen may not be long for the Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens just declined the fifth-year option for Patrick Queen. That is obviously a sign of what is to come with his career.
It was hard to see that the Ravens drafted similar Trenton Simpson and not think about what that means for Patrick Queen. Simpson profiles similarly to Queen and the team was able to grab him about two rounds later. Similarly to the Hamilton situation, Simpson may be spending his rookie season playing dime, and even a little slot at times. Simpson was a former safety hybrid player, so he could fill a role similar to what the team asked Hamilton to do now that Hamilton is starting at strong safety.
Then, the team will let Patrick Queen walk in the same way that they traded Chuck Clark. The only difference is that Queen will help them in the compensatory formula, while they got a pick for Clark. Still, the team will then transition to Trenton Simpson, assuming he is ready.
Even if Simpson is not ready, the Ravens will figure something out. A the same time, if Queen did excel, the Ravens would not budge. It would only mean a bigger compensatory pick for them. From this point on it will be hard to know how much credit Queen gets without praising Roquan Smith for pulling this out of him.
The combination of drafting Simpson and declining the fifth-year option for Queen is all that needs to be said. Queen is not long for the Baltimore Ravens roster.