Baltimore Ravens Uncertain if They'll Activate 5th-Year Option on LB Queen

The Baltimore Ravens are uncertain about their future at linebacker. General manager Eric DeCosta would not commit to activating the fifth-year option of linebacker Patrick Queen.

Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said he's not prepared to say whether the team will pick up Patrick Queen's fifth-year option. Decision has to be made in May.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) January 19, 2023

The Ravens drafted Queen 28th overall in 2020. He has dominated snaps for the team, starting 50 of a possible 50 games while compiling 321 total tackles and 10.0 sacks. The Ravens have also finished in the top three for points allowed in two of his three seasons.

As much as his usage and the team's success suggest Queen is a valuable player, the tape apparently says different. Queen earned disastrous overall grades of 29.7 and 43.5 from Pro Football Focus over his first two years in the league. He managed a much more respectable 70.0 overall grade this season, but it apparently wasn't enough to convince the Ravens he's a long-term solution at his position.

Complicating Queen's contract situation is the massive extension Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith signed earlier this season. The Ravens made Smith the league's highest-paid off-ball linebacker and may be unwilling to commit more money to the position.