Steelers Could Hide Former Ravens LB From Hard Knocks
The Baltimore Ravens will be a part of history this winter, when they and the rest of the AFC North will appear on this year's edition of "Hard Knocks: In Season," marking the first time the show will focus on an entire division rather than an individual team.
An inside look at arguably the most hate-fueled division in football is already compelling enough, but for Ravens fans specifically, there's another dimension to consider. Baltimore has seen several players sign with division rivals this offseason, with Geno Stone joining the Cincinnati Bengals, Tyler Huntley joining the Cleveland Browns and Patrick Queen joining the Pittsburgh Steelers. Queen is especially notable, as he's wasted no time in making himself a villain in Baltimore with several jabs at the team and city.
Through "Hard Knocks," Ravens fans will get a better look at what their former players are up to, or will they? According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, the Steelers could end up hiding Queen from the show as much as they can.
"It kind of came out of nowhere because the Steelers don’t like to open their doors and let outsiders see how the sausage is made," Kaboly writes. "But when you can have four teams featured over six weeks, it doesn’t seem like that much of an ask for any of the organizations. I wouldn’t expect much to come out of it for Pittsburgh.
"Mike Tomlin, T.J. Watt, Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Russell Wilson are polished PR machines. I would imagine the Steelers will keep Patrick Queen and Najee Harris away from the cameras. But even if they don’t, there is an erase button available in the editing process."
Queen is quite the chatterbox, a reputation he's only reinforced this offseason, so the Steelers presumably don't want him to get too much screen time in fear of letting something get out that shouldn't.
Either way, "Hard Knocks" should be an exciting watch for all four fanbases when it premieres on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
JON ALFANO