The Pittsburgh Steelers' free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is looking to accept a bigger role for the team's defense in the upcoming season. He has already made his impact felt in his short time with the Steelers thus far.
Based on an article written by Dave Schofield for SB Nation's Behind the Steel Curtain:
“He came to play for us, and we tried to limit the amount that we put him with in the first couple weeks we had him and then we realized he could handle a lot more than we were giving him at times. He did a good job for us there and even more so this year we think he can help us quite a bit. Obviously, we think he is a top tier guy in the League and if he could continue to get better, which we think he can, it should make us a little better.”
After being drafted with the 11th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Dolphins decided to move on from the safety. The team dealt Fitzpatrick along with their 2020 fourth round and 2021 seventh-round draft picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their 2020 first round, 2020 fifth round, and 2021 sixth-round draft picks. The former Alabama Crimson Tide eventually joined the team during Week 3 of last season against the San Francisco 49ers.
In 14 games played for the Steelers, the safety accounted for 36 solo tackles, 5 interceptions, and a forced fumble last season. A productive season was capped by a Pro Bowl appearance and a 2019 first-team All-Pro selection.
The team managed to finish with an 8-8 record to finish second in the AFC North division. However, their regular-season record wasn't enough to snag them a seat in the playoff picture.
The Steelers are looking forward to capitalizing on the looming return of Big Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster in order to make a deep playoff push once again.
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