Steelers A to Z: Prospective extension looming, Minkah Fitzpatrick’s production has slipped

Editor’s note: From now until reporting day to training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2025 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 12 and July 23. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

S MINKAH FITZPATRICK

Experience/age: 8th season, 28

Contract status: $22.36 million cap hit in 2025, signed through 2026

The past: Probably the most consequential in-season acquisition the Steelers have made in any of their 92 seasons, Fitzpatrick was brought in via September 2019 deal with the Miami Dolphins for the Steelers’ next first-round pick. Fitzpatrick provided immediate dividends with two defensive touchdowns among five interceptions, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries in 14 games for the Steelers that season. A first-round pick of Miami’s in 2018, Fitzpatrick has three times been named first-team AP All Pro while with the Steelers and last season begot his fifth Pro Bowl berth.

Signed in June 2022 to a five-year contract that at the time made him the highest-paid safety in NFL history ($18.4 million per season), Fitzpatrick has a Hall of Fame-caliber resume. In 88 games with the Steelers, Fitzpatrick has 18 interceptions, four forced fumbles and three touchdowns.

Mark Madden says: The #Steelers are in the mess they're in for a number of reasons. One of which is trading 2020’s 1st-round pick for S Minkah Fitzpatrick.

He gets a lot of bucks. But his bang has disappeared.https://t.co/fTwKvFM7me

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) January 9, 2025

2025 outlook: The “splash,” though, has been missing from Fitzpatrick the past two seasons. After leading the league in interceptions in 2022 with six, Fitzpatrick has just one since – snapping a 25-game INT drought with a pick of Lamar Jackson during a December game in Baltimore. Those 25 games by Fitzpatrick featured just one forced fumble, two tackles for loss and no fumble recoveries. Whereas he averaged 9.5 passes defended per season during his first four years with the Steelers, Fitzpatrick totaled just two in 2023 and 2024 combined.

Is that a problem? For a player accounting for the fourth-highest salary-cap hit of any player at his position in the league, it is for the Steelers. And it is for Fitzpatrick if it continues because with his contract expiring after the 2026 season, an extension would be due next summer. And if Fitzpatrick isn’t regularly providing big plays this season, the Steelers might not be eager to give a player who will be 30 big money over a longer term.

As such, it’s fair to say that this upcoming season is a significant one for Fitzpatrick.