The Pittsburgh Steelers secondary got a makeover during the offseason. Cornerback Cameron Sutton and safety Terrell Edmunds both left as free agents. Then came the additions like Patrick Peterson and Keanu Neal through free agency and Joey Porter Jr and Cory Trice Jr through the NFL Draft. When Trice spoke to Amanda Godsey of the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat Thursday afternoon, the topic of safety Minkah Fitzpatrick came up as a veteran influence for the young rookie.
“That guy knows what it takes to stay here,” Trice told Godsey. “I’m always asking him questions, always seeing the things he does outside of practices to take care of his body. I’m definitely under his wing, asking him questions, and just watching him from a distance.”
While Peterson is talked a lot about as a veteran presence, and rightfully so, Fitzpatrick has something that really no other player in the secondary has: time with the Steelers. Fitzpatrick entered the league with the Miami Dolphins in 2018 and played his first full season and the first two games of the 2019 season in Miami. The Steelers traded for him in 2019 and he has been a member of the team ever since. He has three Pro Bowl nods and has been named Associated Press first-team All-Pro three times, all with the Steelers (2019, 2020, and 2022.)
He has only missed three games in his career (one due to a positive COVID-19 test in 2021, one game due to a concussion, and one game due to an emergency appendectomy in 2022. Other than those three incidents, none of which are related to normal wear-and-tear experienced throughout an NFL season, Fitzpatrick has kept himself healthy through his first five seasons in the league.
For a rookie like Trice, learning how to take care of your body is huge. There is a cliché in the NFL (and other places) that has been espoused by countless players, and that is that a player’s best ability is availability. Fitzpatrick has been available for almost every single game in his career, and it shows. He’s played in 79 games and amassed 443 total tackles, knocked down 47 passes, gathered 19 interceptions, forced four fumbles, recovered five fumbles, and tackled the ballcarrier six times for a loss. He also returned four of those interceptions for a touchdown, tied for most by a single player since he started playing in 2018, and returned one fumble for a touchdown.
Even with only five years in the NFL, it’s hard to argue against Fitzpatrick having established himself as someone young players should be looking up to as a veteran.
The Steelers have players in place in the secondary that can help mentor the two young rookies, and Fitzpatrick seems to have caught Trice’s eye in OTAs.
