Among the many question marks the Dallas Cowboys have on defense is at the linebacker spot, where the team has yet to adequately address the position in free agency.
At one spot, the Cowboys have DeMarvion Overshown, who is no doubt talented but has injury concerns. Dallas also doesn’t have a sure starting solution next to Overshown and simply can’t enter the season with the group as is.
Knowing that, Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay has suggested Dallas as a possible landing spot for Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen, who he labeled as a possible draft-day trade candidate.
“While Queen still contributed at a high level in pass-rushing situations — recording 17 pressures and a sack on the year — his propensity for missed tackles (he was credited with 31 last year) and an expensive contract makes him an obvious trade candidate,” Kay said. “Despite the regression and a $13.3 million salary, Queen should have some interested suitors arise during the 2026 NFL draft.”
Cowboys have shown interest in Patrick Queen
Kay goes on to link the Cowboys to Queen because Dallas was rumored to have interest in a trade for the Steelers linebacker during the initial free-agent frenzy.
“The [Cowboys] had interest in Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker and Patrick Queen,” Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News said. “The Cowboys elected not to trade for Queen, who enters the final year of his contract that will pay a base salary of $10.8 million.”
Once considered one of the better linebackers in the NFL, Queen has been woefully disappointing for the Steelers over the past two seasons and hasn’t come close to living up to his contract.
The veteran has been average, at best, as a run defender and is a liability in coverage after sporting a putrid 31.3 Pro Football Focus grade in that area in 2025.
It’s no wonder the Cowboys decided not to trade for him.
Is there still a world in which the Cowboys would trade for Queen?
Never say never in the NFL, but the Cowboys would have to be really desperate and Pittsburgh would likely have to pick up a massive chunk of his contract for Dallas to even consider it.