The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Is no news good news for Minkah Fitzpatrick and his knee?
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will speak to the media today on this odd Tomlin Monday due to the team again being scheduled to play on Saturday. Since the team’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, we have not heard too much regarding the status of S Minkah Fitzpatrick, who exited the game with a knee injury after CB Patrick Peterson fell on him.
Having already missed four games earlier this season with a hamstring injury, the Steelers can ill afford to be without his services for any longer, at least if they retain any playoff ambitions. That’s exceedingly likely, but the surest way to guarantee that you have no chance of making the playoffs is by not winning games.
The old adage is that no news is good news, including when it comes to sports injuries. If something truly bad had happened, it almost undoubtedly would have been reported in some form or fashion in a timely manner.
Then again, the Steelers do a better job than most organizations keeping things close to the vest, including injury status, but even they get the major media treatment when a key player is potentially dealing with a major injury.
Even if Fitzpatrick did escape major injury, it’s unclear if he will be able to play Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals, a game that is obviously necessary for them to win in order to have any hope of remaining in the playoff hunt. If they don’t, they can just pack it in and hope for a better 2024.
