From 2019 through 2022, Minkah Fitzpatrick was one of the NFL’s biggest playmakers. An interception waiting to happen, he was feared by opposing quarterbacks and those who challenged him paid the price. The last two seasons, Fitzpatrick hasn’t been the same player. With just one interception over his last 26 regular-season games, Fitzpatrick seemed to hint at frustration during his final season with the Steelers.
NFL Network reporter Cameron Wolfe shared a conversation the two had during 2024.
“Can he play a little bit more a versatile role than he played in Pittsburgh?” Wolfe said on Friday’s The Insiders. “I talked to Minkah at one point midseason last year and he’s like, ‘Man, I really wanna get back around the ball.’ He played free safety, more than 90 percent of his snaps there.
“Maybe Miami has a versatile role for him in mind and maybe help that young secondary be able to come into [its] own early in the season.”
To be abundantly clear, those comments didn’t come after June’s shocking trade in which the Steelers dealt Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins for CB Jalen Ramsey, TE Jonnu Smith, and a 2027 pick swap. Fitzpatrick hasn’t spoken to the media since the trade, though he’ll report to Miami’s training camp Tuesday and likely speak with reporters.
But Wolfe’s conversation opens a window into what Fitzpatrick was thinking during his interception drought, going 25 games without a pick from the end of the 2022 season until Week 16 in 2024 against Baltimore.
In 2023, Fitzpatrick’s role was noticeably different. Without a designated every-down strong safety, he was forced to play near the line of scrimmage far more often. That removed him from playing the pass and concentrated his mission on making tackles over interceptions. Repeated injuries played a factor too, limiting him to just 10 games.
With DeShon Elliott added, Fitzpatrick returned to a more-familiar role in 2024. But for the first half of the season, Pittsburgh lacked a versatile cornerback who could rotate with Fitzpatrick in obvious passing situations, presenting new coverages and different shells for opposing quarterbacks while allowing Fitzpatrick to play closer to the action. Even after CB Cam Sutton returned from suspension to offer some of that flexibility, it might not have been utilized to the degree Fitzpatrick hoped for (and Sutton was a disaster in coverage).
In a twist of irony, Fitzpatrick’s return to Miami could be to increase his versatility. The place he wanted out in 2019 for being too versatile. There’s still no evidence Fitzpatrick leveraged a trade but if the Dolphins get creative with his usage, he could be happier in his role than what Pittsburgh had planned for him.
