Starting this Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers might have to get used to playing without star FS Minkah Fitzpatrick for a while. Already ruled out for Week Nine’s game against the Tennessee Titans, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac wrote Tuesday evening the Steelers are worried he’ll miss more than just one game.
While there’s been no definitive word on Fitzpatrick’s status beyond this game, Dulac says the team doesn’t know when he’ll return. Per Dulac:
“The Steelers are concerned their All-Pro safety could be out much longer — a loss that will force them to change some of their defensive schemes in his absence.
Fitzpatrick had an MRI Monday afternoon to determine the extent of his injury, and the Steelers are hopeful his injury is not as bad as the hamstring injuries sustained by two of their other players, receiver Diontae Johnson and tight end Pat Freiermuth.”
WR Diontae Johnson and TE Pat Freiermuth were both placed on IR for their hamstring injuries. Johnson missed a month of action after injuring his hamstring in the Week One opener before returning for Week Seven following the team’s bye. Freiermuth was injured in Week Four, missed Week Five, and attempted to come back in Week Seven. But he aggravated the injury three days before the game and landed on IR, meaning he won’t be back until mid-late November at the earliest. Dulac does offer an optimistic touch of the team hoping Fitzpatrick’s injury isn’t as severe as the others.
Fitzpatrick injured his right hamstring in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Running downfield, he fell to the ground and immediately clutched his leg, spending a few moments on the ground before walking off the field. The team quickly ruled him out.
Thursday afternoon will be a telling day for his status. If he’s going to be placed on IR, it’s most likely to occur prior to the Titans game. Should Pittsburgh make such a roster move, they’ll do so by 4 PM/EST on Thursday in order to open up that roster spot for someone else. If they do, he’ll miss at least the next four games. If they don’t, it’s a sign the team is optimistic he can return even sooner.
Replacing Fitzpatrick will be a starting tandem of Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal. Both have played regular snaps this season rotating opposite Fitzpatrick. Most often, Neal plays in the team’s base 3-4 defense while Kazee plays in nickel. Both see the field in the dime package. With Fitzpatrick out, special teamer Miles Killebrew is expected to fill in for dime packages ahead of Elijah Riley, who has hardly seen any defensive snaps this season.
But even if Fitzpatrick avoids IR, there’s no guarantee he’ll return for Week Ten against the Green Bay Packers. Hamstring injuries can take weeks to heal and the team is likely to be cautious with him. After the Titans and Packers, Pittsburgh plays the Cleveland Browns in Week 11 and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12.
For the season, Fitzpatrick has recorded 54 tackles with two pass breakups and no interceptions.
