ExtremeRavens Posted November 15 Posted November 15 The Steelers were on their way to the airport after a dramatic, one-point victory over the Commanders on Sunday when linebacker Patrick Queen turned to safety DeShon Elliott and informed him that he was going to avoid the locker room back in Pittsburgh this week. The reason, Elliott said on ex-teammate Marlon Humphrey’s podcast, was simple: “You know why,” he recounted. “It’s that week. It’s Ravens week.” Of course, Queen, who, like Elliott, spent his first four seasons in the NFL in Baltimore, couldn’t entirely avoid it, by choice or otherwise. “Even though I signed here, you still go through those feelings,” Queen told reporters, “knowing a long four years that you put in, blood, sweat and tears over there, the guys you bonded with, built close relationships with. “You put your body on the line every single time you went out there even when you could barely move your leg or whatever the injury might have been. You try to go out there and do your best for your team. I definitely did feel a certain type of way after the whole situation, but I’m over it now.” This week’s AFC North blockbuster between the Ravens (7-3) and Steelers (7-2) at Acrisure Stadium takes on a level of import the longstanding and tense rivalry hasn’t seen in years, the winner strong-arming first place with just seven weeks remaining in the regular season after it. Once the NFL’s best rivalry in the early 2000s and front end of the 2010s, the rekindling takes on another layer this year. Three former Ravens — Elliott, Queen and linebacker Jeremiah Moon — now play for Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, two ex-Steelers — cornerback Arthur Maulet and wide receiver Diontae Johnson — are now with Baltimore. It makes for a juicy subplot in a game already full of intrigue. No one is more at the nexus of it than the former Ravens Pro Bowl linebacker, who, along with Roquan Smith, roamed the middle for a Ravens defense that was once one of the best in the league. At his introductory news conference in Pittsburgh in March, he embraced the role of heel when it came to the Ravens. “I wanna be that villain,” Queen said. “I wanna be that guy, so I’m looking to do some stuff to them.” Then this week, he bemoaned Baltimore not offering him a contract before he became a free agent this past offseason, though it was obvious what their plans were after signing Smith to a lucrative extension, not picking up Queen’s fifth-year option and drafting his replacement, Trenton Simpson, in 2023. “I wasn’t offered to go back,” Queen said. “I don’t know if I ever put that out there in the public or not. I wasn’t offered back. It was definitely kind of upsetting, being there for four years and the bond you grow with your teammates.” Former Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen, left, is looking forward to facing Roquan Smith, right, and the rest of his former teammates Sunday. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) The same was true for Elliott after a spate of injuries during his tenure with the Ravens before he signed with the Detroit Lions and then Miami Dolphins before joining the Steelers this season. “I wouldn’t say [I’m a] traitor because [general manager] Eric DeCosta had a chance to sign me back and he chose not to,” Elliott told Humphrey on the podcast. “He chose to sign No. 32 [Marcus Williams].” The same, of course, was true of former Steelers receiver Johnson, whose career in Pittsburgh had its share of acrimony — including a heated argument with teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick after a loss to the Cleveland Browns last November — before he was traded to the Panthers in the offseason. His stint with Carolina lasted just seven games, though, with Baltimore acquiring him at the trade deadline 10 days ago in a swap of draft picks. “Just being back in that stadium, where it all started, it’s going to be different,” said Johnson, who downplayed any ill feelings toward the Steelers this week and added that he still keeps in touch with several former teammates there. “I’m ready to get back there, just to see the good people that I made relationships with, but other than that, it’s a big moment for me.” The same could have been true for Maulet as well, though he suffered a calf injury Thursday in practice that will likely keep him out of the contest. Before getting hurt, however, he was looking forward to facing the team that he asked for a release from after the 2022 season over a contract dispute. He quickly signed with the Ravens, then re-signed with Baltimore this offseason. “It’s a little bit [special],” he said earlier in the week. “I think it’s just business at this point. It’s a big game for the whole team not just me.” Especially for the Ravens. Pittsburgh has won seven of its last eight against Baltimore, including both games last season, though Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson along with most of the team’s starters didn’t play in the second meeting with their No. 1 playoff seed having already been wrapped up. Jackson also has a career record of just 1-3 against the Steelers, who have befuddled and frustrated him into costly mistakes on the few occasions that he has faced them. (The reigning NFL Most Valuable Player has missed several games against Pittsburgh because of injury or illness.) Another loss would drop the Ravens further back of the Steelers, making the road back to the AFC title game that much more difficult to navigate. And as for what role that added degree of familiarity will play between the two teams and the players that have been on both sides of the rivalry? “I think it plays a small part,” Smith said. “But make no mistake about it, they know what we’re going to do, we know what they’re going to do. “We know they’re physical, so are we. And it’s about play in and play out doing your job and smashing the guy across from you. And if we do that, we would like the odds.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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