NFL INT co-leader Minkah Fitzpatrick joins Hall of Famers as safeties voted Steelers MVP

In the rich era of Pittsburgh Steelers history since the franchise won its first Super Bowl in January 1975, only two safeties had been named team MVP until Friday.

Each ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Time will tell if Minkah Fitzpatrick might join Donnie Shell and Troy Polamalu with a gold jacket in Canton, but Fitzpatrick’s play that was as “splash”-worthy as it was steady this season earned him the team MVP award Friday.

“It’s awesome,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s an honor just to be mentioned in the same sentence as those couple of guys. And I’m thankful for it.”

The Steelers MVP is voted on by players. Fitzpatrick broke a three-year run of team MVP awards by outside linebacker T.J. Watt. The other safeties to win Steelers MVP since the award’s inception in 1969 have been Glen Edwards (1974), Shell (1980) and Polamalu (2010).

Shell and Polamalu were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

Before this four-year run by Fitzpatrick and Watt, an offensive player took the MVP in eight consecutive years (Antonio Brown four times, Le’Veon Bell twice, Heath Miller in 2012 and JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2018).

“It’s nice that it’s still on the defensive side of the ball,” Watt said with a smile.

“Super happy for ‘Mink,’ a guy who works his (butt) off. He’s the first guy in and last guy out, so I’m super happy for him.”

Fitzpatrick enters Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with six. He’s the major reason the Steelers are tied for the most team interceptions in the league (18).

“Just doing our job — taking the ball away from their offense and giving it back to our guys,” safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said.https://t.co/bzXh9nqSh1

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) December 30, 2022

No Steelers player has led the NFL in interceptions since another Hall of Famer, Mel Blount, did it with 11 in 1975. The most recent Steelers player to have more INTs in a season than Fitzpatrick’s six in 2022? Polamalu during his team MVP season of 2010, when he had seven en route to winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

As Fitzpatrick himself said Friday while discussing his admiration for Polamalu, interceptions aren’t mere luck. With 17 in 60 games since the Steelers acquired him for a first-round pick in a September 2019 trade, Fitzpatrick ranks third in the NFL over that time span. Counting five fumble recoveries, Fitzpatrick’s 22 takeaways with the Steelers are the second-most across the league since he joined the team.

“It’s been just being in the right position — a couple of (potential interceptions) come to you,” Fitzpatrick said. “Then I was in coverage a lot this year, and when you’re in coverage, you are gonna get thrown at, and when that happens, you can take them away from the other guy. And then there’s a couple plays where I was playing in a deep half, playing post, where I just seek the ball out.

“So I think there’s been a lot of opportunity for me to go and get the ball this year, so I have just been taking advantage of them.”

#Bengals QB Joe Burrow throws a pick-6 to #Steelers Minkah Fitzpatrick for the first touchdown of the first football Sunday of the season.pic.twitter.com/Dnze2P3XbP

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 11, 2022

Named to the Pro Bowl, Fitzpatrick scored on his first interception of 2022: scoring the Steelers’ first points of this season when he picked off the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow 137 seconds into the opener and returned it 31 yards into the end zone.

Fitzpatrick, who signed a four-year, $73.6 million contract extension in August, also has 94 tackles and 11 pass defenses this season. Perhaps the quietest among the Steelers’ core of best players, the MVP vote cements that Fitzpatrick has the respect of his teammates.

“Just consistency, his voice, his presence, communication,” cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon said. “He’s just a consistent playmaker, and he shows up in those important moments, a guy who loves the game, and that’s the kind of guy you want to follow.”

Note: Despite being listed on the injury report as questionable to play Sunday, Fitzpatrick is expected to suit up against the Browns. Fitzpatrick rolled an ankle early during the second half of last week’s win at the Baltimore Ravens but finished the game. Fitzpatrick sat out practices Wednesday and Thursday but took part in a limited capacity Friday.

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