Tim Benz: If Minkah Fitzpatrick starts moving around, which Steelers move with him?

Minkah Fitzpatrick has made his opinion known. The Steelers safety would like to move around on defense more often.

At the Pro Bowl this year, Fitzpatrick said he may like to do something besides just play the deep middle or one half of the field. It’s Fitzpatrick’s belief that his turnover numbers dipped as the season went along because quarterbacks were avoiding him. He was a part of seven turnovers in his first seven games as a Steeler.

Then the former Dolphin was involved in just one turnover — a fumble recovery — in the last seven games.

Some data supports that. According to The Athletic, Fitzpatrick was targeted just seven times over the last eight games of 2019.

Fitzpatrick is not exactly Nikita Khrushchev about his desire to experiment, though. He’s not banging a cleat on a table in his home while on a Zoom chat with head coach Mike Tomlin.

In fact, during one of those online Q&A sessions with media members Tuesday, Fitzpatrick may have even dialed back the sense that maneuvering positions is high on his agenda.

It’s just something he thinks may be worth investigating now that he’s had 14 games to digest the nuances of the Steelers defense.

“Now if the coaches want (me) to move around, I’ll move around,” Fitzpatrick said. “If they don’t, then I don’t need to. I wouldn’t say it’s a goal.”

Part of the reason Fitzpatrick’s statements at the Pro Bowl got such attention was that while he was in Miami, the idea of bouncing all over the field was something Fitzpatrick didn’t want to do.

Especially the idea of playing a quasi-linebacker role with the Dolphins. Granted, that partially had to do with injuries at that safety position for Miami in 2019. But it didn’t sit well with Fitzpatrick and other members of his family.

It was believed to be part of the reason why he wanted out of South Florida.

Now, though, Fitzpatrick appears to be more on board with the concept.

“If that’s corner or linebacker, whatever it may be, that’s what I’m going to do,” Fitzpatrick said. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve moved around a lot in the past. It’s about going out there and making plays. Being where I need to be.”

OK. The question now becomes, if Fitzpatrick does start bopping around to various spots on the field, who else has to move with him and how will they be impacted?

• Terrell Edmunds: The only other player Fitzpatrick specifically mentioned while discussing his potential position changes was fellow starting safety Terrell Edmunds.

“Terrell and I could maybe move around and switch roles sometimes,” Fitzpatrick said. “But, schematically, it’s all up to the coaches.”

That could mean any number of things for Fitzpatrick, from different sides of the field to different levels of it. It may mean more occasions where he helps take away the middle third of the field, instead of the deep middle. It could mean finding himself on tight ends or running backs in pass patterns out of the backfield. Perhaps even the odd blitz or attempt at run support.

For Edmunds, swapping with Fitzpatrick from time to time may expose him as a “center fielder” in coverage. But it may also allow him to snag a deep ball or two.

As Fitzpatrick proved from that position last year, you can get your hands on the football from the opposing offense even if you aren’t being targeted. Six of the eight times Fitzpatrick helped to get the ball back as a Steeler, the quarterback wasn’t coming at him to begin with, or he was part of a fumble.

Edmunds is in desperate need of creating a few turnovers himself. In two years as a pro, he has just two to his credit.

• Mike Hilton: More reps at slot corner for Fitzpatrick could mean fewer snaps for Mike Hilton. That’s unless Fitzpatrick gets those snaps only when opposing teams go with four or five receivers in their formation.

• Cam Sutton: Cam Sutton has always been a player the Steelers seem to like. Yet they have never been quite sure what to do with him. He definitely appears to be more cornerback than safety.

But if Fitzpatrick floats around some more this year, perhaps Sutton’s pass coverage skills in dime situations as a “third safety” can allow Sutton to play the deep middle a few snaps a game with Edmunds, if the Steelers feel like creeping Fitzpatrick closer to the ball for the sake of variety.

• Linebacker X: Since the release of Mark Barron, we’ve often speculated about what the Steelers will do to absorb his 750 snaps at the position. One notion has been that Edmunds may see some action as a dime linebacker. If Fitzpatrick becomes another safety option to mitigate that absence at linebacker next to Devin Bush, then the onus could fall more on the backs of young depth safeties such as Jordan Dangerfield, Marcus Allen and rookie Antoine Brooks Jr.

Those options make the idea of flirting with Fitzpatrick as a hybrid between multiple positions more palatable. If defensive coordinator Keith Butler can find an option or two that work, great.

But with a shortened offseason and some great results with Fitzpatrick as a deep-shot deterrent last year, it shouldn’t be forced.

Why mess with a good thing? And the results of Fitzpatrick at free safety last year were among the good things on defense for the Steelers.