Player: S Minkah Fitzpatrick
Stock Value: Sold
Reasoning: Minkah Fitzpatrick is no longer with the Steelers following a blockbuster trade that sent him back where he came from. Pittsburgh once traded for him from the Dolphins, and now they’ve sent him back, with a pick, for two players. Fitzpatrick has struggled to make splash plays the past two years, making his salary increasingly harder to justify.
The Steelers may not have actively been shopping Minkah Fitzpatrick, but they were clearly open to interesting offers. A cornerstone of the defense for seven years, he is suddenly an opposing player.
When the Steelers traded for Fitzpatrick in 2019 from the Dolphins, he picked Miami off twice weeks later. Now back with the Dolphins, he will face the Steelers in Week 15. Considering he only has one interception in the past two years, though, what are the odds he makes a splash?
Put simply, the lack of splash plays is the reason Minkah Fitzpatrick is no longer with the Steelers. It’s not because a soon-to-be 31-year-old Jalen Ramsey was just too good to pass up. It’s because you can’t pay a guy $18 million a year for an occasional splash play.
The Dolphins are banking on Fitzpatrick finding his groove again and being in the right place to make plays. The Steelers probably felt reasonably confident he still had it in him, but were hesitant to find out on their own dime. But the opportunity to acquire both Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith tipped the scales and they pulled the trigger.
The 11th-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Minkah Fitzpatrick made an immediate impact for the Steelers once they traded for him, two weeks into the 2019 season, for a first-round pick. In his first game, he recorded an interception and forced a fumble. That year, he intercepted five passes and made the first-team All-Pro List.
Suddenly, Steelers fans started to believe they actually found their next Troy Polamalu. And to some extent, Fitzpatrick was that, or at least as close as one could come to such a unique player. But two down years and a strong trade opportunity proved alluring. Fitzpatrick only turns 29 in November, so he is still on the young side. He could have a lot of good football left. But if he does, he won’t play it for the Steelers. Whether Pittsburgh regrets it, time will tell.
With the new league year underway and the Steelers turning their roster over, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
There is still a long way to go before we know what this Steelers team is going to look like. The dust is settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? If they traded for one player, they could certainly trade for another, or trade one away. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
