PITTSBURGH —The ball found Minkah Fitzpatrick 's grasp just once last season. The Pittsburgh Steelers ' three-time first-team All-Pro safety has just one interception since tying for the NFL lead with six picks in 2022.
What will it take for him to get back to his ball-hawking ways? Fitzpatrick's solution is simple.
"I just gotta play football," Fitzpatrick said during OTAs earlier this month. "That's it."
While Fitzpatrick trusts that his workmanlike persistence will allow him to disrupt the flow of opposing offenses this upcoming season, his defensive backs coach, Gerald Alexander, believes success is found in preparation.
"I mean, a lot of that is not necessarily dealing with the chasing of the results, but just how do we continue to master the process that puts him in position to make plays?" Alexander said last week at mandatory minicamp. "And a lot of that comes with alignments, assignments, being a great communicator, whether it is putting himself or his teammates in positions to have success, or for whenever the opportunity presents itself.
"When those techniques and those opportunities align, that's when splash plays happen. … It's really an opportunity just to develop the details that come with the responsibilities that we have that will lead to the results we seek."
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick during minicamp on June 11, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Then-Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores played Minkah Fitzpatrick in the box more than he would've liked early on in his career. The Steelers traded for the disgruntled player in 2019, and he broke out at free safety, intercepting five passes that same campaign. That handful of picks included a 96-yard return for a touchdown against Indianapolis .
The Steelers hope to see similar shades out of No. 39 this fall.
"That's his calling card, and he hasn't had as much success as we'd like the last couple years, but the way it works, the way he works, the way he prepares, those things will come," Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said during mandatory minicamp. "He's just had a dry year or so."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Minkah Fitzpatrick Looking to Make Big Change to His Play in 2025
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