3 teams Seahawks must outbid for Patrick Queen in free agency arms race
By Lee Vowell
12s should be able to safely assume that the Seattle Seahawks defense is going to be better beginning in 2024. New head coach Mike Macdonald has a track record of elevating his defensive units and molding them into some of the best groups in the NFL. Seattle is also not without young talent such as Devon Witherspoon and Boye Mafe.
One way of making the defense even better is to sign free-agent linebacker Patrick Queen. Queen played under Mike Macdonald the last two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and Queen was named Second-Team All-Pro by the Associated Press this past season. He also made his first Pro Bowl.
Spotrac has Queen's market value guessed at $18.5 million a year for five seasons. Can Seattle afford that? Nope. But they can try to make room for Queen and if they were able to do so, 12s should be happy. But Seattle might have to battle with these three teams for Queen's services.
Seahawks must keep Patrick Queen from joining the Eagles
A year ago if Patrick Queen was a free agent and I was Queen (of which I most certainly do not have the talent to be so), and I had the choice between signing with the Seahawks and signing with Philadelphia, I am likely choosing the Eagles. The reason is that the Eagles looked a lot closer to making a push to win a Super Bowl. Plus, Philadelphia's defense looked like it was going to be amazing and I (or Queen) would have just added to it.
But things have changed. Philadelphia declined greatly in the second half of this past season, backed into the playoffs, lost in the first game out, and struggled through a season where the defense underperformed and the defensive coordinator was ultimately fired. Plus, Queen's DC in Baltimore just became the head coach in Seattle. Surely, Queen would choose Seattle over Philly now, right?
Well, maybe not. Money is still the main reason that football players play professionally so getting paid is extremely important, of course. The Eagles currently have $12 million more in cap room than Seattle and while both teams could still make more, the Eagles will probably still be able to pay Queen more than the Seahawks. That might make the difference in the end.