5 Baltimore Ravens who played more than expected against Pittsburgh Steelers

3. The Baltimore Ravens gave Patrick Queen the top linebacker responsibility 

There was a debate about what the Baltimore Ravens would do with Patrick Queen against the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the one hand, he led the Ravens in snaps coming into the game, and it would not hurt if he sat and rested for a week. 

On the other, he is a free agent after this year, and every snap is helping him make money on the open market. More than that, the Ravens got a look at him in the Roquan Smith role. 

The narrative remains that Queen was not great; the Ravens signed Roquan Smith, and his play improved dramatically. That is because Smith took over the MIKE, and Queen just had to play the WILL role as his sidekick. This week, with Roquan Smith out, the Ravens were able to slot Queen back into the top linebacker role. 

Queen left the game for 11 snaps and was not great overall. If anything, it justifies the idea that the Ravens will let him walk in free agency, and it may be a buyer-beware situation.