Dallas Cowboys Have Not Called Pittsburgh Steelers About Patrick Queen Since May
FRISCO, Texas — Reports that the Dallas Cowboys recently called the Pittsburgh Steelers again about linebacker Patrick Queen are inaccurate, NFL sources told Mike Fisher of Cowboys Roundtable on Friday. The Cowboys have not contacted Pittsburgh about Queen since May, according to Fisher’s sources.
The renewed Queen talk followed a trade deadline ranking that ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Matt Bowen published Wednesday. Queen came in at No. 10 among 25 players, and Dallas was the first of two teams listed as fits for him. Fowler put Queen’s chances of being traded before the Nov. 10 deadline at 20%.
In the same item, Fowler wrote that Queen trade rumors persisted through the spring and that the Cowboys were among the teams that checked on his availability. He also noted that Queen is headed for free agency in 2027. “The Steelers’ status as a 5-2 team likely keeps him in Pittsburgh,” Fowler wrote.
Behind the Steel Curtain, an SB Nation Steelers site, aggregated Fowler’s item Thursday under the headline “Steelers received trade calls on LB Patrick Queen.” “That’s totally fake,” one source told Fisher of the reports of a new call.
Dallas first surfaced in connection with Queen at the start of free agency. On March 9, NFL Network’s Jane Slater reported that the Cowboys were “looking at” a Queen trade but were not in strong pursuit, and she posted that night that Queen was still one she was watching. Minutes later, Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram posted that a handful of teams had called Pittsburgh about Queen and that Dallas had kept a hand in that mix. Slater reported the next day that she had been told Queen was probably not headed to Dallas.
The Steelers paid Queen his $2.5 million roster bonus on March 13, the third day of the league year. Six weeks later, on the second day of the 2026 NFL Draft, Dallas traded the 152nd pick to the San Francisco 49ers for linebacker Dee Winters.
Queen is in the final season of the three-year, $41 million contract he signed with the Steelers in March 2024. The Baltimore Ravens took him No. 28 overall out of LSU in 2020. He was a second-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in 2023, his final season in Baltimore, and he made a second Pro Bowl in 2024 after leading the Steelers with 129 tackles. Last season, he started all 17 games and finished with 120 tackles. On Sunday, Queen had a game-high 10 tackles and a fourth-quarter sack in Pittsburgh’s 16-10 win over the New Orleans Saints in Paris.
Cowboys’ Linebacker Room Without Dee Winters
Winters started each of Dallas’ first six games before leaving the Oct. 18 loss at Green Bay with an Achilles strain. Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan the following day that Winters “will likely miss time.” Winters did not practice Thursday.
A hamstring injury in the season opener cost DeMarvion Overshown five games. He came back Monday night and intercepted Tanner McKee in the fourth quarter of a 38-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The win snapped a two-game losing streak and moved Dallas to 3-4.
Shemar James started at middle linebacker and wore the green dot for the first time in that game, playing 58 defensive snaps, 88% of the total. Rookie third-round pick Jaishawn Barham had worn the green dot since Overshown’s injury.
The Cowboys and Steelers have made three trades since May 2025. Dallas acquired wide receiver George Pickens from Pittsburgh that month. Pickens is playing this season on a $27.3 million franchise tag. In late August, the Cowboys added offensive tackle Broderick Jones and a 2027 fourth-round pick for a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick. On Oct. 1, Dallas sent a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Steelers for cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Steelers coach Mike McCarthy coached the Cowboys from 2020 through 2024 and is in his first season in Pittsburgh. The Paris win was the Steelers’ third straight.
Maxx Crosby Talk Returns Before Nov. 10 Deadline
Fisher wrote that he considers a renewed Dallas push for Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby more plausible than a Queen trade. On Thursday, Bryan Broaddus, a former NFL scout, predicted on 105.3 The Fan that Dallas will trade for Crosby before the deadline.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on the same station that he would add to the roster if he could, and that another addition would be a big statement. “It’s unlikely we’ll get the opportunity from outside coming in. But if it’s there, I’ll do it,” Jones said.
The Raiders agreed in March to trade Crosby to Baltimore for two first-round picks. Dallas was among the teams that pursued Crosby before that agreement. Baltimore backed out over concerns about the meniscus repair Crosby had after the 2025 season, and the Cowboys acquired edge rusher Rashan Gary from the Green Bay Packers that same month for a 2027 fourth-round pick.
Crosby has 2 sacks in seven games this season, his eighth with the Raiders. Las Vegas opened 3-0 and has lost four straight. A five-time Pro Bowler with 71.5 career sacks, Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension in March 2025.
Teams have until 3 p.m. CT on Nov. 10 to complete trades. Before then, Dallas hosts the Arizona Cardinals at noon CT Sunday at AT&T Stadium and plays Nov. 8 at the Indianapolis Colts.
