Former Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick reveals what it was like to leave Pittsburgh in his first comments since being traded

Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded out of nowhere from the Pittsburgh Steelers a few short weeks ago.  Since joining the Miami Dolphins, the All-Pro safety has been hesitant to speak to the media amidst a contract negotiation.  But with that in the rearview, he finally spoke on Monday, and he had a polished answer regarding his time in Pittsburgh… […]

Rob Gregson — NFL News Writer

Jul 28, 2025 1:26 PM EDT

Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded out of nowhere from the Pittsburgh Steelers a few short weeks ago. 

Since joining the Miami Dolphins, the All-Pro safety has been hesitant to speak to the media amidst a contract negotiation. 

But with that in the rearview, he finally spoke on Monday, and he had a polished answer regarding his time in Pittsburgh…

Minkah Fitzpatrick speaks on time with the Steelers

"Before we start asking questions, I wanna make a statement real quick. I know I haven't addressed the media or posted on social media – one, I'm not a big social media guy. You ain't gonna see me on there, period, point blank, Fitzpatrick told Miami media via SD. "Two, in no way, shape, or form was that an expression of frustration about coming back to Miami. Three, I wanna thank the city of Pittsburgh, the fans of Pittsburgh. You guys treated me very well. I enjoyed my time there and I played with some great teammates. It was very unfortunate the way things ended, but it's a part of the business and I'm extremely excited to be a Miami Dolphin. Again, my silence was not a reflection of how I felt about this team or this organization."

I would come to expect nothing less from Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was a consummate professional during his time in Pittsburgh. Sure, he accumulated first team All-Pro nods, Pro Bowls and was arguably the best safety in the league from 2019-2022, but it was all the little things with Minkah. 

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This is a guy who called out players like Diontae Johnson for his effort. A guy who couldn't stomach losing and did everything in his power to prevent it. The only reason he isn't still a Pittsburgh Steeler is that the team knew the exact contract situation that arose in Miami was on the horizon, and they didn't feel his recent play was worthy of a new deal. 

Who's right in the end? Time will tell. 

PFF changes their tune on Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt following unveiling of league-wide positional rankings

Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt was in the news a lot late last week and into the weekend.  A good portion of that was due to his record deal, which he signed a week before the first practice was scheduled in Pittsburgh.  It just so happened to coincide with PFF releasing their top 50 NFL […]