In 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season looked lost after Ben Roethlisberger was lost for almost the entire year. However, the Steelers tried to remain competitive, trading for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. It was a shocking move, but it paid off. Fitzpatrick made an instant impact and was one of the best safeties in the NFL. While he hasn’t been terrible, his play took a step back, resulting in the Steelers trading him this offseason. Former NFL safety Rodney Harrison thinks the Steelers are to blame for Fitzpatrick’s struggles.
“When Minkah [Fitzpatrick] was at the University of Alabama, he played over the slot, and he was the best DB in America,” Harrison said Friday on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast to former NFL defensive back Devin McCourty. “He was productive, he was blitzing, and he makes plays. And a year later, they trade him. But I don’t think that he was in the right position to make plays.
“You can’t have a guy that talented 25-yards in the deep middle of the field. You [McCourty] were a guy that played, you played corner, you could play slot, you can play out wide, you can play safety, you play it all over the field. That was your versatility. And I felt like Minkah Fitzpatrick was the same way. To trade him and bring in Jalen Ramsey, and Jalen’s a solid player, but he’s not like that anymore.”
Fitzpatrick was with the Steelers for six seasons, and in that time, he was primarily a deep safety. However, that was the role he was best suited for. It’s true that Fitzpatrick was effective playing in the slot in college. However, the same wasn’t true in the NFL.
In 2023, the Steelers dealt with a ton of injuries at safety and linebacker. That forced them to play Fitzpatrick in more of a slot role, having him closer to the line of scrimmage. Fitzpatrick proceeded to have one of his worst seasons in Pittsburgh. In 10 games, he didn’t record a single interception.
During the following offseason, Fitzpatrick expressed an interest in moving away from that role. He was at his best when he operated in the deep part of the field.
Also, Fitzpatrick’s issue with the Miami Dolphins during his first stint with them was that they were moving him around. He didn’t want to play that versatile role. It’s easy to say that the Steelers should’ve moved Fitzpatrick around, but in reality, that wasn’t a successful strategy.
Unfortunately, even after moving back to his more natural position in 2024, Fitzpatrick didn’t look like himself. He recorded an interception and was named to the Pro Bowl, but overall, he felt less impactful.
That led the Steelers to trade him back to the Dolphins this offseason. Ramsey was part of the package they got in return, and he seems slated to play the versatile role that Harrison envisioned for Fitzpatrick. While Ramsey is a little older than Fitzpatrick, he’s been making plays in training camp so far. Pittsburgh looks to be following Harrison’s suggestion, just with a different player.
