diff --git a/src/signals/engine.ts b/src/signals/engine.ts
index 04466444ec..c5b6e6b7b3 100644
--- a/src/signals/engine.ts
+++ b/src/signals/engine.ts
@@ -3844,7 +3844,7 @@ function queuePressureComponent(queueHealth: QueueHealth): { score: number; max:
   const cachedOpenPullRequests = Math.max(0, signals.cachedOpenPullRequests ?? signals.ageBuckets.under7Days + signals.ageBuckets.days7To30 + signals.ageBuckets.over30Days);
   const likelyReviewablePullRequests = Math.max(0, Math.min(openPullRequests, signals.likelyReviewablePullRequests));
   const sampledLikelyReviewable = signals.likelyReviewablePullRequestsSource === "sampled_cache" || (signals.likelyReviewablePullRequestsSource === undefined && cachedOpenPullRequests < openPullRequests);
-  const score = queuePressureScore(openPullRequests);
+  const score = queuePressureScore(queueHealth, openPullRequests);
   const likelyEvidence =
     openPullRequests === 0
       ? "0 likely reviewable"
@@ -3867,13 +3867,25 @@ function queuePressureComponent(queueHealth: QueueHealth): { score: number; max:
   };
 }
 
-function queuePressureScore(openPullRequests: number): number {
+function queuePressureScore(queueHealth: QueueHealth, openPullRequests: number): number {
+  if (openPullRequests === 0) return 10;
+  return Math.min(queuePressureOpenPullRequestScore(openPullRequests), queuePressureLevelScore(queueHealth.level));
+}
+
+function queuePressureOpenPullRequestScore(openPullRequests: number): number {
   if (openPullRequests <= 4) return 10;
   if (openPullRequests <= 8) return 8;
   if (openPullRequests <= 13) return 5;
   return 3;
 }
 
+function queuePressureLevelScore(level: QueueHealth["level"]): number {
+  if (level === "low") return 10;
+  if (level === "medium") return 8;
+  if (level === "high") return 5;
+  return 3;
+}
+
 function hasClearNoIssueRationale(pr: PullRequestRecord): boolean {
   return /\b(no issue\s*(?:because|:)|no linked issue\s*(?:because|:)|no ticket\s*(?:because|:)|maintenance|docs? only|typo|chore|cleanup)\b/i.test([pr.title, pr.body ?? ""].join(" "));
 }
diff --git a/test/unit/signals-coverage.test.ts b/test/unit/signals-coverage.test.ts
index d6748e26ff..cbd329cf70 100644
--- a/test/unit/signals-coverage.test.ts
+++ b/test/unit/signals-coverage.test.ts
@@ -1176,6 +1176,30 @@ describe("signal coverage edge cases", () => {
       action: "No action.",
     });
 
+    const staleQueuePullRequests = [44, 45, 46, 47].map((number) =>
+      pr(directRepo.fullName, number, `Stale unlinked queue item ${number}`, {
+        updatedAt: "2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
+      }),
+    );
+    const criticalBurdenQueue = buildQueueHealth(
+      directRepo,
+      [],
+      staleQueuePullRequests,
+      buildCollisionReport(directRepo.fullName, [], staleQueuePullRequests),
+    );
+    expect(criticalBurdenQueue).toMatchObject({ level: "critical", burdenScore: 100 });
+
+    const criticalBurdenScore = buildPublicReadinessScore({
+      pr: currentPr,
+      preflight: { ...preflight, status: "ready", reviewBurden: "low", findings: [] },
+      queueHealth: criticalBurdenQueue,
+    });
+    expect(scoreComponent(criticalBurdenScore, "queue_pressure")).toMatchObject({
+      score: 3,
+      evidence: "4 open PR(s), 0 likely reviewable, 4 stale, 4 unlinked.",
+      action: "Expect slower review.",
+    });
+
     const sampledQueue = buildQueueHealth(
       directRepo,
       [],