Pittsburgh Steelers star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick returned to training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., Saturday. While he did not practice in full, he did get some reps in during 7-on-7 action and spoke with the media after practice. One of the topics that came up per 93.7 The Fan’s Jeff Hathhorn was fellow safety Kenny Robinson, who has evidently caught Fitzpatrick’s eye.
“He’s a guy that has experience in the league,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s a guy that plays fast, plays hard. He’s a guy that loves the game and plays with energy. That’s contagious and we love playing with guys like that.”
Fitzpatrick and the Steelers got to see more of Robinson than expected because the early portion of training camp was not kind to the top of the safety depth chart. Fitzpatrick missed time due to a personal matter, and both Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal suffered injuries. That meant players like Robinson got a much longer look than expected, and he appears to have taken advantage of that, showing some ball-hawking abilities. He hauled in seven interceptions over 23 college games at West Virginia University, so the potential has been there.
Robinson does have some experience after playing 19 games for the Carolina Panthers from 2020-21. While he only registered six defensive snaps in his rookie season, he did jump up to 182 in 2021. In that more extended playing time, Robinson recorded 17 total tackles. He also brings special teams experience, playing 128 snaps in 2020 and 167 in 2021.
Interestingly, Robinson also has five games of experience in the XFL in 2020 with the St Louis Battlehawks before the league stopped due to the pandemic. In that shortened season, he had two interceptions, 21 tackles, and a sack.
While Robinson was only signed to a Futures Contract by the Steelers, he has certainly had an opportunity to demonstrate his football abilities due in part to injuries. If the Pittsburgh-area native can continue to show a knack for snagging passes, he might have a path to the practice squad at minimum. For Fitzpatrick, he’s already loving what Robinson brings to the table as a teammate. Now it’s up to Robinson to make a similar impression on Pittsburgh’s coaching staff and front office.
