UPDATE: Fitzpatrick has since been ruled out. It’s a big loss for Pittsburgh’s secondary and with a short week coming up, Fitzpatrick’s status is going to be something to monitor.
UPDATE: Fitzptrick’s return to the game is doubtful with a hamstring injury, per Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten.
The Pittsburgh Steelers potentially lost a key member to their secondary, as S Minkah Fitzpatrick went down and was grabbing his hamstring following a first quarter sack by Pittsburgh. Pro Football Network posted a video of the injury.
Fitzpatrick was in coverage on the play, and as he was down, he was holding his right hamstring. He walked to the injury tent and was attended to on the field by Steelers trainers. With the rainy weather, soft-tissue injuries can be more common, and Fitzpatrick’s injury looked to be of the same variety.
Per Dale Lolley of Steelers.com, Fitzpatrick exited the injury tent and went directly to the locker room, which isn’t a good sign for his odds to return to this game.
The Steelers also saw WR Diontae Johnson and TE Pat Freiermuth deal with hamstring injuries this season, and while it’s unknown if that’s the exact nature of Fitzpatrick’s injury, it looked serious. It was non-contact, and he went down immediately.
While Fitzpatrick doesn’t have an interception this season, he’s still playing good football and he’s one of the best safeties in the league. He’s a huge piece to Pittsburgh’s defense, which is already without DL Cameron Heyward. On the season, Fitzpatrick has 52 tackles and two passes defensed.
We’ll keep you updated on Fitzpatrick’s status as we know more.
