Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: S Minkah Fitzpatrick
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Now set to miss his fourth game in a row without participating in a single practice, it’s clear that Fitzpatrick’s injury has not fallen on the optimistic end of the spectrum. The Steelers elected not to place him on the Reserve/Injured List, an indication they were hopeful he could return within four games, but it’s not clear if he will even make it back in five.
It’s been a couple weeks now that head coach Mike Tomlin has begun to speak of S Minkah Fitzpatrick as a potential participant in practice. Yet each day has gone by without his name appearing on the injury report with anything but a DNP – Did Not Participate.
Already ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, it will be the fourth for Fitzpatrick. That means the Steelers wasted a roster spot for the past four weeks, because there is nothing he has done during that time that he couldn’t have done while on the Reserve/Injured List. He did nothing on the field in four weeks—which is exactly what would have been required of him if he were put on IR when he was first injured.
That’s not to second-guess the team’s decision not to make that transaction. The fact of the matter is that hamstring injuries, like that suffered by Fitzpatrick, are fickle and can be difficult to predict. Both WR Diontae Johnson and TE Pat Freiermuth spent stints on the Reserve/Injured List this season because of hamstring injuries.
What’s done is done. The question now is how close Fitzpatrick is to returning to practice, and then to returning to play. With Tomlin mentioning him as a possible practice participant the past two weeks, there has to be some degree of hope that he can practice next week.
If he can get back on the field on Wednesday, that potentially puts him in line to play against the Arizona Cardinals at home in Week 13. Their following game is on Thursday Night Football after that against the New England Patriots.
The Steelers are 2-2 in the four games Fitzpatrick has missed. Adding to the urgency is the fact that S Keanu Neal was also injured in their game against the Green Bay Packers and is on the Reserve/Injured List. He will have to miss the next three games at least, so there’s also simply a depth concern without their All-Pro.
