The Steelers Let Minkah Fitzpatrick Down - But Moving On Isn't A Mistake

The Pittsburgh Steelers have traded Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Jalen Ramsey, Jonnu Smith and a 2027 seventh-round pick. It is a trade that was met with shock around the league, and with sadness amongst Steelers fans given the success of Fitzpatrick in the black and gold. However, as disappointing as it is to see the former first-round pick leave for South Beach, the trade is a sign of change for the Steelers, a team that hasn't seen a playoff win since January 15th, 2017. Necessary change is not the right term to use for trading Fitzpatrick specifically, but the aggressive nature of the move certainly fits that terminology for a team that has not been able to compete with the best teams in the league since the 2018 season.

This piece is not a criticism of Minkah Fitzpatrick, it is an assessment of his legacy with the Steelers, as well as a glass half-full evaluation of an aggressive trade from let's face it, a struggling franchise, that has just let a fan-favourite out the door.

Fitzpatrick was an excellent player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In six seasons under Mike Tomlin, the two-time national champion was named as a First-Team All-Pro on three separate occasions, and was also a Pro Bowler five times. He was the best safety in the league between 2019-2022 and was a defensive player of the year candidate right out of the gate in 2019 when he joined the Steelers after a trade with Miami. One theme stands out the largest when reflecting on Fitzpatrick's time in the Steel City, he was let down by the other side of the ball.

In 2019, Fitzpatrick almost single-handedly turned an 0-2 team, which was facing the possibility of ending the season with a bottom-five record, into a playoff contender. With five interceptions, including a 97-yard pick-six, number 39 was the catalyst for Pittsburgh's transformation into an elite defense after years of a weak secondary, which had resulted in explosive offenses underperforming. Unfortunately, after Ben Roethlisberger's season-ending injury in week 2 of 2019, before Fitzpatrick arrived in Pittsburgh, the downfall of the offense was inevitable. Minkah's heroics in 2019 were not enough to lead the sixth-worst scoring offense into the playoffs.

In 2020, Minkah made it back-to-back First-Team All-Pro seasons, as the Pittsburgh defense was the only group in the league to finish top three in total defense, scoring defense, and takeaways. But, an inefficient offense was exposed in the playoffs despite an 11-0 start to the season. The defense was certainly not short of blame in the humiliating 48-37 loss to the Cleveland Browns but the offense didn't help with four turnovers in the first half, and a total of 52 rushing yards in the game, an unsurprising stat for the worst rushing offense in the league that season.

2022 was the third time Fitzpatrick was named as a First-Team All-Pro but once again, his success was not rewarded. The defensive unit in 2022 may not have been as dominant as 2019 or 2020 but it worked miracles late on in the season to keep Tomlin's non-losing season record alive, in spite of below-average quarterback play.

2023 saw Fitzpatrick's production drop off, with injuries being part of the reason. He missed seven games, and in the ten he appeared, he wasn't able to produce a single interception. However, the safety was still playing at a high level with his coverage, as he allowed just a 66.9 passer rating as the nearest defender, according to Next Gen Stats. Minkah and Pittsburgh's 2023 season ended with a disappointing loss to Buffalo in the playoffs, where they never really had much of a chance, mainly because of a lacklustre offense, which finished bottom five in scoring in the regular season. Minkah and the defense didn't cover themselves in glory either, but the theme was once again that the Steelers didn't have the attack to compete with a real playoff team.

Fitzpatrick's last season with the Steelers was his worst one. The splash plays were once again scarce, but this time his coverage wasn't good enough to override his absence on the box score. Minkah allowed a 126.0 passer rating as the closest defender, according to Next Gen Stats, by far the worst year of his career in that statistical category, and this could be seen clearly on the field, with several miscommunications on defense throughout the year. The old Minkah did re-emerge in a big moment in week 16, with Pittsburgh looking to regain the AFC North crown for the first time since 2020, as his interception of Lamar Jackson in the red zone seemingly gave the Steelers hope. They trailed 24-17 when Fitzpatrick made his biggest play of the season to get his side right back in the game, but a Russell Wilson pick-six two plays later killed any chance of a comeback.

Three weeks later, Pittsburgh were swept aside by their arch rivals again, this time in the playoffs, to complete an embarrassing late season collapse. This season was different for Fitzpatrick, though, as, rather than being let down by a team that did not match his elite standards, like in many of his previous seasons, he had been one of the weaknesses for the Steelers.

There were certainly disappointing playoff performances from the defense during Fitzpatrick's prime, but the core problem between 2019-2022, when Minkah was at his best, was the offense. That problem remained in 2023 and 2024, as the defense was let down again and again, but Minkah was not as big a part of the defence's success, especially in 2024. Last regular season, out of the league-leading 33 takeaways the defensive group in Pittsburgh had, Minkah contributed to just one of those.

That brings us to the present day. Despite the three-time First-Team All-Pro's poor 2024 season, and his lack of splash plays over the past two seasons, was there a chance Fitzpatrick would get back to his best for Tomlin's side? Of course. He is still only 28 years old and it would not be a surprise to see him make more plays in Miami, but even when he was at his peak, along with other All-Pros such as T.J. Watt, and Cameron Heyward, the Steelers could not find success. Why should the Steelers take a gamble on the safety regaining his All-Pro form when they know it hasn't produced playoff wins before, even if the lack of success was for reasons outside of Fitzpatrick.

Jalen Ramsey might not be the lockdown corner he once was, but he provides great experience as a Super Bowl champion and, at 30 years old, he certainly has some good to great seasons left in the tank. Plus, with Darius Slay Jr. and Joey Porter Jr. already at cornerback, Ramsey can rotate back to safety when the Steelers aren't in nickel or dime looks on defense. Ramsey might not definitively be a better player than Fitzpatrick at this point in time, but he provides more versatility, and more importantly, a bigger change, for a defense which collapsed in big moments towards the end of last season.

Jonnu Smith is a solid addition on offense. With Smith, Pat Freiermuth, and Darnell Washington, the Steelers will be wanting to run a lot of 12 and 13 personnel in 2025, even more than last year when they were amongst the teams with the highest usage of multiple tight ends. Offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, wants to dominate opposing defence's with physicality, and Jonnu Smith, who Arthur has worked with in Tennessee and Atlanta, will be a big part of that. Pittsburgh had the fourth most rushing attempts lasts season, but lacked explosiveness, ranking 26th in the league in yards per carry, and 25th in percentage of rushing attempts resulting in a first down. Jonnu may not be an elite blocker in the run game, but having him in the game with Freiermuth and Washington will be a big part of Pittsburgh's plans to improve on the numbers stated above. The Steelers new tight end also provides a different skillset in that position group for Pittsburgh. Smith is a big yards after catch player, different to Freiermuth, who is at his best catching the ball on seam routes.

The Steelers will head into 2025 with a similar philosophy on offense and defense. However, fans have been furious at the lack of playoff success since 2016, and something has to change in the way Pittsburgh approaches the offseason. Fitzpatrick is the unfortunate victim of that change and, while it is upsetting for fans given the safety's elite play for the Steelers over the years, it is about time the team took some big swings in the offseason to try and become a contender for the first time in a long time. The trade for Ramsey and Smith likely won't make Tomlin's team a true Super Bowl contender, but it's better than keeping with the conservative mindset in the offseason and expecting the results to be different. As much as it hurts to see Minkah leave, you cannot fault Tomlin and Omar Khan for not making moves to try and change the disappointing recent history of this franchise.

Minkah Fitzpatrick deserved the offenses of Big Ben, Antonio Brown, and Le'Veon Bell, instead he was given Ben past his prime, and mediocre to bad quarterback play after that. With a better group of players on the other side of the ball, Fitzpatrick could have got the playoff success his elite play deserved. Instead, Steelers fans will look back on his time in Pittsburgh as a disappointment in terms of team success, given that Minkah was the best safety in the league for several years, and didn't win a single playoff game.

The Steelers are trying to end their embarrassing streak of playoff performances, and, as elite as Fitzpatrick was, the decision to trade him away is a statement of intent from Tomlin and Khan, a statement that staying conservative is no longer the philosophy in the Steel City.