Everyone has a list, particularly in these unprecedented times in which we are starved for sports content. So, when CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco compiled a listing of his top 100 NFL players, it probably didn’t register all that much for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Except when one of their best players was left off of it.
Free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was an NFL defensive player of the year candidate last season after his September trade from the Miami Dolphins. But despite five interceptions and his enforcement in something of a “no-fly zone” as the last line of defense for one of the NFL’s better defenses, Fitzpatrick was left off Prisco’s list.
He expressed his displeasure about it via his verified Twitter account, posting while quoting a CBS Sports tweet of the list: “No one agrees w you. But i appreciate the fuel.”
No one agrees w you. But i appreciate the fuel https://t.co/Bdn0JZfWE1
— Minkah Fitzpatrick (@minkfitz_21) May 22, 2020
Fitzpatrick and teammate Cameron Heyward were invited to speak about the snub by CBS in a segment hosted by former Steelers defensive back Bryant McFadden. McFadden, who was a teammate of Heyward’s for two seasons, noted that Steelers fans on the Internet and social media were quick to come to Fitzpatrick’s defense.
“It makes me feel good that we have a strong fan base,” Fitzpatrick told McFadden. “You know, they’re honestly the best in the world, you know what I’m saying? There’s nothing really like the city of Pittsburgh; lives and breathes sports. So, seeing some of the comments that they’re saying and just seeing them have my back was big to me.”
Fitzpatrick joined two other eyebrow-raising omissions from Prisco’s list that he termed as “Just missed:” Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and guard David DeCastro.
Four Steelers did make the list: outside linebackers T.J Watt (16th) and Bud Dupree (60th), Heyward (33rd) and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (84th).
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