MARCH 12: The Panthers are also a team to monitor on the Queen front, Joe Person of The Athletic reports. Carolina is set to lose Frankie Luvu once free agency opens, leaving a need for a new starter. Queen’s skillset would match well with the one being replaced, but the former first-rounder is no doubt a top option for additional teams. Carolina currently has roughly $25.5MM in cap space.
MARCH 11: Ever since he wasn’t tagged by the Ravens, linebacker Patrick Queen has been repeatedly linked to his former defensive coordinator, Mike Macdonald, who is the new head coach of the Seahawks. According to ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime, the Texans are officially throwing their hat into the ring for this year’s second-team All-Pro linebacker. 
The Texans are set to fill some holes at linebacker with two heavy contributors hitting free agency. Blake Cashman has already agreed to a deal with the Vikings, and Denzel Perryman may not be far behind him at the door to the exit. Houston is already set to bring in former Titans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair to start alongside Christian Harris, but besides them, a number of inexperienced, young linebackers wait in the wings.
Queen would be an extremely nice pairing with Al-Shaair and Harris. Queen has been a full-time starter since his rookie season, never missing a game. As a first-round pick out of LSU, Queen struggled mightily to lead the storied Ravens defense, grading out as the second-worst linebacker in the league during his rookie season, according to Pro Football Focus. With the arrivals of Macdonald and Roquan Smith, Queen improved markedly, earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors for the first time in 2023.
If the Texans can land Queen, they could easily be set at linebacker for the 2024 season. Unfortunately, Bien-Aime notes that some in Queen’s circle are concerned that the Texans won’t come up the funds to sign the free agent defender. Spotrac.com lists a potential market value for Queen at $18.5MM per year, projecting a five-year, $92.64MM contract behind only his former teammate, Smith, and Fred Warner.
The Texans have plenty of cap space, with OverTheCap.com showing them with the sixth-most cap room to start the day. It’ll come down to whether or not Houston is willing to shell out top money for Queen to come in and once again attempt to lead a defense, this time under a great defensive mind in DeMeco Ryans.