The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2021 season is over, already eliminated from the postseason after suffering a 42-21 loss at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. They just barely made the postseason with a 9-7-1 record and a little help from their friends.
This is an offseason of major change, with the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, the possible retirement of general manager Kevin Colbert, and the decisions about the futures of many important players to be made, such as Joe Haden, Stephon Tuitt, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and others—some already decided, some not.
Aside from exploring their options at the quarterback position, the top global priority, once again, figures to be addressing the offensive line, which they did not do quite adequately enough a year ago. Dan Moore Jr. looks like he may have a future as a full-time starter, but Kendrick Green was clearly not ready. Chukwuma Okorafor was re-signed, but Trai Turner was not. James Daniels and Mason Cole were added in free agency.
These are the sorts of topics among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked. There is rarely a concrete answer, but this is your venue for exploring the topics we present through all their uncertainty.
Question: Is Minkah Fitzpatrick’s wrist injury anything to be concerned about?
Head coach Mike Tomlin announced during check-in day at training camp that Tyson Alualu would be going on the Active/PUP List, and also that Minkah Fitzpatrick would be placed on the Non-Football Injury List. He is said to have sustained a wrist injury while bicycling during the break, but Tomlin recorded it not to be serious.
It probably isn’t. But wrist injuries can be tricky. And it was apparently enough to get him on this list, even if it is out of an abundance of caution. I would guess that Fitzpatrick won’t be on the list for long, and certainly his status for the season opener shouldn’t be considered to be in jeopardy just based on what we have already been told.
But having a wrist injury can affect your game without necessarily limiting your availability. You can function with pain in your wrist, but it can be a nuisance, and can make some things more difficult to do. Without knowing anything more than ‘Fitzpatrick has a minor wrist injury’—and, you know, not having a medical degree or anything like that—it’s hard to say more.
But I’m sure there were more than a couple of people whose ears perked up when Tomlin said that about Fitzpatrick. It’s probably nothing. But you never know.
