Minkah Fitzpatrick much more comfortable in 2020 Steelers debut than last year's

Chris Adamski
Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020 5:32 p.m. | Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020 5:32 p.m.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick goes through drills during a training-camp practice last month at Heinz Field. It was Fitzpatrick’s first camp with the Steelers; he played last season after being acquired via a Week 3 trade.

You wouldn’t have known it by looking at the stat line, but Minkah Fitzpatrick says now that his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers was a frenzied “learning on the fly.”

Fifty weeks later, the first game of Fitzpatrick’s second season with the team doesn’t have near the same feel.

“This year is the total opposite end of the spectrum,” the All Pro safety said during a video conference with media after practice Thursday. “I didn’t know the playbook at all (last season). I didn’t know my teammates very well. This year is a different story, the total opposite.”

The Steelers agreed to trade for Fitzpatrick late Monday evening of preparations for their Week 3 game against the San Francisco 49ers last season. Fitzpatrick had three practices — and a cross-country flight — to get to know his teammates and coaches and familiarize himself with the Steelers’ defensive scheme and playbook.

Safe to say Fitzpatrick did an OK job in his on-the-job assimilation. He had an interception, a forced fumble, a pass defended and a QB hit while playing 100% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps during a 24-20 loss on the road against the eventual NFC champions.

“I was learning on the run, learning on the fly,” Fitzpatrick said, looking back, “but my teammates and coaches helped me a whole lot.”

.@KGorman_Trib : What a steal Minkah Fitzpatrick has been for the #Steelers https://t.co/GAomL6EQ7D

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) November 11, 2019

Fitzpatrick would earn All Pro honors after playing all but three of the Steelers’ 933 defensive snaps the remainder of the season. He had five interceptions and two touchdown returns over those 14 games.

If healthy, Fitzpatrick is similarly expected to never leave the field on defense for the Steelers in 2020. And this time, he’ll have a full year’s worth of familiarity and comfort within the organization to fall back on.

“I’m excited,” the Steelers’ other starting safety, Terrell Edmunds, said this week. “Minkah knows what I do well, and I know what he does well. We can play off each other. Our communication has been growing a whole lot.

“Last year, we grew throughout the season. Now that we have a full season together it can be really special.”

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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.