Minkah Fitzpatrick underwent appendectomy soon after Steelers’ Saturday walkthrough
As far as his teammates could tell, Minkah Fitzpatrick’s Saturday wasn’t all that unlike the eve of any other Pittsburgh Steelers gameday.
“We saw him during the walk-through and not thinking anything,” Cameron Heyward said offering a wry smile. “Minkah’s just, you know, Minkah’s grumpy all the time, so didn’t think anything of it.”
Turns out, Fitzpatrick must have been in some level of abdominal pain — enough so that it wasn’t all that long after he left the field at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex that Fitzpatrick was undergoing an emergency appendectomy.
“I just saw something on my phone,” said Heyward, the Steelers’ defensive co-captain. “I texted him, and he was like, ‘Yeah, I had to get surgery.’”
Fitzpatrick therefore could not play in Sunday’s 20-10 Steelers win against the New Orleans Saints. It was just the third game Fitzpatrick missed since he joined the team in September 2019. Making his Steelers debut, Damontae Kazee started in Fitzpatrick’s place.
Activated off injured reserve list Thursday, Kazee said he found out about Fitzpatrick’s surgery via a text from his cousin.
More on the Steelers' win over the Saints:
• Steelers right ship with win over Saints
• Steelers come out running vs. Saints, finish with their best rushing game in 6 years
• Returns of T.J. Watt, Damontae Kazee contribute to Steelers’ dominant defensive effort
• Steelers injury report: Myles Jack cleared, but held out of Steelers’ victory as precaution
“I thought it was fake news,” Kazee said. “He sent me a screen shot, and I’m like, ‘You lie. I just left an hour ago with him and there’s nothing wrong with him.’ But then (Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds) called me.”
It was true. It is unknown how long Fitzpatrick is out, but he is not expected to play in next week’s home game against the Cincinnati Bengals. For point of reference, Ben Roethlisberger’s first game following having his appendix removed in 2006 came 15 days post-surgery.
“After seeing it come across my phone and, you know, checking in on him, (coach Mike Tomlin) explained to us,” Heyward said, “he was, like, ‘First things first, you’ve got to take care of the player. We’ve got to make sure we take care of our business while Minkah’s out.’”
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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.
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