Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick part of first NFLPA All-Pro team

There was credible new NFL All-Pro balloting introduced for this season, and Minkah Fitzpatrick is on the inaugural team.

Voted by his teammates as the Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 MVP last week, Fitzpatrick again was honored by peers with his selection as the first-team All-Pro free safety in balloting done by members of the National Football League Players’ Association.

Fitzpatrick is the only Steelers player on the team, which is in its first season and is the only award voted on entirely by NFL players. The voting is position-specific, meaning those at a players’ position and those who most often compete one-on-one with that position are the ones choosing the All-Pro team.

“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.”https://t.co/ME39QEUrR8

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) January 8, 2023

The Associated Press All-Pro team, voted on by media, for decades has been considered the All-Pro team of record. Other publications and analytics services, in addition to the Pro Football Writers of America, have or soon will release teams.

Named AP All-Pro in 2019 and 2020 after his first two seasons with the Steelers, Fitzpatrick in 2022 tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with six. He helped the Steelers lead the league in interceptions and added 95 tackles (56 solo, one for loss) and 11 passes defended.

Fitzpatrick in July agreed to a four-year contract extension that, at the time, made him the highest-paid safety in the NFL.

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