After several great seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, FS Minkah Fitzpatrick returns to where it all started. Drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Fitzpatrick was traded back to South Beach on Monday as part of a blockbuster deal that sends CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Jonnu Smith to Pittsburgh. What was viewed as a non-starter days ago, Fitzpatrick on the move, is now reality. What made Pittsburgh decide in trading Fitzpatrick, who was previously seen as one of the team’s big three defensive pillars? Last year’s communication breakdowns hold the answer, believes one local beat writer.
“Guys like DeShon Elliott and Patrick Queen were not on the same page as Minkah Fitzpatrick all the time,” the PPG’s Ray Fittpaldo told 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi Monday afternoon. “Maybe when DeShon and Patrick were talking about the miscommunication and guys not doing their job, maybe they weren’t talking about guys like Cam Sutton and others.”
Repeated communication miscues were one of the theme’s of the Steelers’ four-game regular season collapsed. Pittsburgh struggled to handle the basics and left receivers and tight ends open for big downfield plays. We examined the issues and showed the team struggling to adjust on the fly to basic switch routes, receivers changing their alignment and path mid-route. Fitzpatrick was a consistent name in our tape breakdown.
A Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was the worst showing, carved up by a Chiefs’ team who had struggled offensively previously. That day, QB Patrick Mahomes shined with 320 passing yards, three touchdowns, and only nine incompletions on 38 attempts.
“If you would watch the tape and you would see what they were talking about after Chiefs game where Minkah got beat to the flat and things like that,” Fittipaldo said. “It just seemed like if you pay close attention, that there were issues there with the communication. And maybe things had run its course with Minkah being a centerpiece to this football team.”
Pittsburgh came into the short week with a stated goal of not getting beat by the Chiefs’ quick perimeter passing game, even making T-shirts which explicitly said “don’t get beat to the flat.” Words that went unheeded come kickoff. Kansas City got going by repeatedly hitting speedy WR Xavier Worthy in space, including for this opening touchdown.
After the game and as the losses stacked up, players publicly shared frustration. Elliott was the most notable, going on-record to say teammates weren’t following their assignments.
“Do your job, you know?” Elliott told reporters following the Chiefs’ loss. “I thought we communicated. Guys just weren’t doing their fricking job. So get back to the drawing board. It’s Week 18. Shouldn’t be having these problems in Week 18. This is a Week 1, Week 2 problem.”
No players were directly named but Fittipaldo thinks Fitzpatrick could’ve been the man primarily addressed.
“I think some of that might have been Cam Sutton, but I think a lot of that, yes, was Minkah Fitzpatrick,” he told The Fan.
It’s unlikely there will be a clear consensus on why Fitzpatrick was traded, though it makes for the most interesting storyline of the offseason. Every other move can be explained in a soundbite. DK Metcalf was added because he’s an ideal fit to an Arthur Smith offense as a big, physical, and playmaking wide receiver. Pittsburgh dealt George Pickens because he was a headache the team tired of. The organization waited three months for Aaron Rodgers because he was the best remaining quarterback.
Dealing Fitzpatrick is a different story. It makes what Fitzpatrick, a man of few words, has to say when he reports to Dolphin’s training camp July 22 very interesting.
