Steelers' Mike Tomlin Completely Minimizes Minkah Fitzpatrick's Impact After Breakup

The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting into the critical part of the season in the NFL as the AFC North is coming down to the wire. The division will likely only have one representative in the playoffs, and Pittsburgh only has a one-game lead on the Baltimore Ravens after beating them in Week 14. Each game matters a ton moving forward, and next on the schedule for the Steelers is the Miami Dolphins. Pittsburgh will host Miami on Monday Night Football, which also means the organization will be welcoming safety Minkah Fitzpatrick back to Pittsburgh after trading him away during the 2025 offseason.

The Fitzpatrick trade took the Pittsburgh fan base by surprise, but it also brought in Jalen Ramsey who has filled his spot on the defense. Ramsey has played cornerback and safety for Pittsburgh, and he has improved a ton since moving to safety full-time. Going into the season following the trade, the fan base was a bit skeptical that the franchise wasn't going to be able to replace the hole left in the defense when Fitzpatrick departed, and Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked about that during his press conference on Tuesday.

"You know, I don't think we're devoid of leadership by any means," Tomlin said. "Certainly we've gone through some adjustments schematically in terms of how we divide the labor up, but it's not exclusive to [Fitzpatrick]. I think the loss of [DeShon] Elliott has been a major component of that as well, guys like Miles Killebrew. It's just the attrition component of it that's associated with football, but at the same time, that's why we're really excited about having Jalen Ramsey with his position flexibility. We're thankful that he's been rock-solid for as at safety."

Tomlin was asked about his former player and what the loss of him has done to the team, but he answered the question by not even mentioning Fitzpatrick by name. He instead highlighted the play of the player the organization received in exchange for Fitzpatrick, while also pointing out that the loss of other players may have played a bigger role.

Fitzpatrick originally joined the Steelers back in 2019 when the franchise sent the Dolphins a first-round pick in exchange for the safety. The standout defender was dealt in just his second season, and he instantly became a star for the Steelers. His first several seasons with the organization were electric as he was a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, but his play and production declined in his last two of seasons with the team. He will now be going against his former team for the first time in Week 15.

It was speculated that Fitzpatrick and Tomlin had an odd relationship over the last couple of seasons, and the head coach's comments on Tuesday played into that. The safety and coach were thought to disagree about schematics at times. Tomlin didn't pay any mind to Fitzpatrick's contributions while he was in Pittsburgh, and his comments were instead focused on other players. It will be weird to see the safety playing for a different team in Acrisure Stadium, and he will certainly be looking to make some big plays to help Miami get a win.

Steelers' Jalen Ramsey Will Also Be Looking For Revenge On Monday Night

Fitzpatrick will be looking to make an impact on the game against the Steelers, but Ramsey will have some of those same feelings as well going against his former team. The play of those two players will be highlighted in this matchup due to them being traded for one another, and it will be interesting to see if Tomlin and Fitzpatrick connect at all before or after the game.

With the midseason addition of safety Kyle Dugger, alongside Ramsey, the Steelers should be more than capable of producing from the safety position in Pittsburgh moving forward in 2025. 

What did you think about Tomlin kind of dodging the question about Fitzpatrick? Let us know in the comments below!

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