He has recently toured and recorded with Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen in a group called Queen + Paul Rodgers . Rodgers thus joined Brian May and Roger Taylor ( former bassist John Deacon retired in the late 1990s ) , with the group billed as Queen + Paul Rodgers and they subsequently toured worldwide in 2005 and 2006 . The participants clearly stated , including on Brian May 's own website , `` that Rodgers would be `` featured with '' Queen as : `` Queen + Paul Rodgers '' , not replacing the late Freddie Mercury '' .