Buy Or Sell: The Steelers should trade Minkah Fitzpatrick while his value is still high.
Explanation: The Steelers do not appear to be on the verge of a Super Bowl championship, and Minkah Fitzpatrick is expensive. They are not a team that typically sells resources, but Fitzpatrick isn’t delivering the difference-making plays they’re paying for. If they can save cap space while gaining other resources, is that a net benefit?
Buy:
Since we’re talking about what the Steelers should do and not will do, the obvious answer is yes. The Steelers once made a trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick; now it’s time to do the opposite. They got their money’s worth out of him, arguably, but they are no longer.
It’s not just because he has one interception over the past two seasons, which is bad enough. The reality is the Steelers aren’t contenders right now, and that’s why they should consider a Minkah Fitzpatrick trade. By the time they can be contenders, he will be past his prime but possibly still commanding top dollar.
A great defense can get by without an elite safety. The Steelers need to prioritize cohesion and communication over playmaking and save that role for other positions. It’s not simply about putting him in more advantageous positions to make plays. If Fitzpatrick isn’t finding ways to impact games, it’s time to consider a trade.
Sell:
Minkah Fitzpatrick only turned 28 years old in November and Steelers fans want to trade him for a drone or a six pack. I first posit that if he is such an expendable resource how much would he fetch? Chances are, the receiving team would want the Steelers to eat some of the cap cost, which would defeat half the purpose of making such a move.
Fitzpatrick may not be stacking the interception column lately, but we know he is capable of it. Just because he is in a production dip in that regard doesn’t mean the Steelers won’t benefit from it again. The defense has seen a lot of change around him in recent years. If they can finally provide stability for him in 2025, he could be part of the solution again. You know as soon as he made a key play for another team, Steelers fans would criticize Mike Tomlin.
With the Steelers’ 2024 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2025 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2025, and they need everyone healthy to do it. They needed a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
