The Baltimore Ravens’ defense put together an extremely solid year in 2022, especially over the latter part of the season. Plenty of their success can be attributed to their inside linebacker duo of Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen, who played extremely well off of each other once Smith was acquired from the Chicago Bears.
When listing off bold predictions for 2023 training camp, Maurice Moten of Bleacher Report has Baltimore moving Queen to the Las Vegas Raiders. He talked about how Queen’s exit has possibly been set up by the team declining his fifth-year option, extending Smith, and selecting Trenton Simpson in the 2023 NFL draft.
“The Baltimore Ravens may have foreshadowed Patrick Queen’s imminent exit…Last October, the Ravens acquired linebacker Roquan Smith from the Chicago Bears and signed him to a five-year, $100 million extension. In the third round of this year’s draft, Baltimore selected linebacker Trenton Simpson. Subsequently, the team declined to pick up Queen’s fifth-year option…Going into training camp, the Ravens have the present and future at linebacker in Smith and Simpson, respectively. Meanwhile, Queen will prepare for a contract year with a chance to cash in on a strong campaign as a free agent in 2024…Simpson may look the part of a starter right away, which may result in Queen’s early departure from Baltimore. If the Ravens make the latter available on the trade block, the Las Vegas Raiders could make a move to bolster their limited linebacker unit…Queen would fill arguably the Raiders’ biggest roster need. In return, he would have a better chance to stand out and earn a big contract in Las Vegas alongside Deablo as opposed to lining up next to Smith, an All-Pro linebacker, with an early-round rookie pushing for snaps.”
