Prior to trading for S Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ secondary in 2019 was a question mark. They had Joe Haden, Steven Nelson, and Mike Hilton making up a solid cornerback room, but the depth and talent at safety was shaky, at best. Pittsburgh had second-year S Terrell Edmunds, who was still adjusting to life in the NFL as a former first round pick, but behind him, Pittsburgh’s best options at safety included Sean Davis and Jordan Dangerfield.
After QB Ben Roethlisberger went down in Week Two with a season-ending elbow injury, Pittsburgh traded for Fitzpatrick while the Monday Night Football game was being played. Speaking with DL Cameron Heyward and OLB T.J. Watt on Heyward’s podcast Not Just Football With Cam Heyward, Fitzpatrick talked more about the whirlwind of a week he had coming from Miami to Pittsburgh and his first game in a Black and Gold jersey.
“It definitely happened fast,” Fitzpatrick said on Not Just Football which aired on the show’s YouTube channel. “I got traded on a Monday night… No, I didn’t know the playbook. They said, ‘You got the post, you got to blitz, and you got the flat,’ and that’s it. That’s all I knew. That’s it. I was learning as we were going.”
Fitzpatrick started against the San Francisco 49ers just days after he was traded from Miami. His presence was immediately felt on Pittsburgh’s defense as Fitzpatrick finished the game with five total tackles (four solo), one quarterback hit, one interception, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble while playing 100 percent of the defensive snaps. For not knowing the playbook, Fitzpatrick was all over the football field, creating turnovers that Pittsburgh’s defense desperately needed to stay in games after losing Roethlisberger for the rest of the season.
Fitzpatrick has been a core piece of the Steelers since arriving via trade from the Dolphins, fitting in perfectly with the culture that the Steelers represent. It’s hard to think that Fitzpatrick wasn’t actually drafted by the Steelers as he has become one of the faces of the franchise, being recognized as one of the best safeties in the game today.
Ultimately, the gamble of trading away a first-round pick for Fitzpatrick paid off in spades as Pittsburgh has formed one of the more talented defenses in the league around him, Heyward, and Watt. With his leadership and playmaking ability in the secondary, the Steelers are in good hands with him leading the back end of the defense in 2023 and many seasons to come.
