Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick given Bart Starr Award for character and leadership

Minkah Fitzpatrick is one of the true leaders in the NFL.

No player in the NFL epitomizes professionalism and leadership like Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. This mentality was awarded on Saturday at the annual Super Bowl breakfast when Fitzpatrick was given the Bart Starr Award.

Here is how the award was described by co-chairman of the Breakfast and former NFL head coach Tony Dungy.

“The award is given every year to an NFL player, and that player is selected by his peers, by the rest of the players in the NFL. And it’s not for accolades on the field, it’s the best representation of character and leadership, first in the home, then on the field and in the community.”

Fitzpatrick, forever showing humility was honored to win the award.

‘I’m honored to win this award,” Fitzpatrick said. “It surprised me that I won this award because there was a lot that I learned about myself, that I need to continue to grow, continue to develop.”

During the 2023 season, when things were unraveling on the team, Fitzpatrick was the voice we heard the loudest saying all the right things and doing his best to keep the team focused and on track. Fitzpatrick’s 2023 season not up to his standards due to circumstances out of his control but he is the last player you will ever hear complain.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick says he’ll play if Pittsburgh makes playoffs

The Steelers will have Minkah Fitzpatrick back if they make the playoffs.

It’s going to be a long day as the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans sit around and wait to see their playoff fate. Pittsburgh beat the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday but now have to see how Sunday’s slate of games plays out to know if they will make the playoffs.

If the Steelers do make the playoffs, it’s going to be a mix of good news and bad news about who will be in the game. The Steelers lose outside linebacker T.J. Watt on Saturday and if the reports are true that he suffered a torn MCL, he will not be available no matter how deep the Steelers make it in the playoffs.

But there is a silver lining. After Saturday’s win over the Ravens, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said that if Pittsburgh makes the playoffs, he will be available to return. Fitzpatrick has missed the last three games with a knee injury.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick wins 2024 Bart Starr Award

Minkah Fitzpatrick is a true leader for the Steelers.

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced safety Minkah Fitzpatrick had won the 2024 Bart Starr Award for displaying outstanding character, integrity and leadership on and off the field.

“It’s a huge honor,” said Fitzpatrick. “I am grateful for you guys to select me. I appreciate it very much.”

“That my peers selected me means a lot. I say all the time the better man you are, the better ball player you will be. I feel like that’s a phrase not a lot of people really believe in across the league.”

“The fact that people see a good man in me means a lot. I am always trying to be a better man, better brother, better son. The fact that people recognize that is a huge honor.”

Fitzpatrick has quickly developed into the best all-around safety in the NFL. But it has been his leadership that stood out this season when he called out his own team for playing flat and getting beat. This season hasn’t gone according to play for Fitzpatrick thanks to injuries but he remains an integral part of the team.

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Steelers vs. Bengals: Minkah Fitzpatrick ruled out for Week 16

Minkah Fitzpatrick was ruled out for Pittsburgh’s Week 16 matchup with the Bengals.

Minkah Fitzpatrick, who went down with a knee injury in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts, has been ruled out for Saturday’s game.

Tomlin said, via today’s press conference, that he doesn’t know how long Fitzpatrick’s current injury will keep him out.

Fitzpatrick was already dealing with a broken hand and has played just 147 defensive snaps since he returned in Week 12 from four weeks sidelined with a hamstring injury.

The seven-year veteran has had an unusally quiet season with three defended passes and 64 tackles in 10 games.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick questionable to return with knee injury

The Steelers are missing both of their starting safeties against the Colts.

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced that star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is questionable to return after suffering a knee injury in the second quarter against the Indianapolis Colts.

It wasn’t clear just how Fitzpatrick hurt his knee as he and another Steelers attempted to make a tackle. With Fitzpatrick out, the Steelers are missing both of their starting safeties. Just a few plays before the injury, Damontae Kazee was ejected after a brutal hit on Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

The Steelers lead the Colts 13-7 in the final seconds of the first half. No word yet if Fitzpatrick will return in the second half.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick expected to wear the green dot vs. Patriots

If Elandon Roberts can’t play versus the Patriots tonight, Minkah Fitzpatrick will wear the green dot.

Communication is key on both sides of the ball, which was lacking once Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts went down with a groin injury last week.

Once Roberts was ruled out, Mykal Walker, signed to the practice squad on Oct. 30, had lead critical responsibilities with the green dot and communication dropped off. To combat this, if Roberts (questionable on injury report) can’t go, the green dot will be given to Minkah Fitzpatrick.

“If Elandon is not the guy, it would probably be Minkah from a hierarchy of green dots, if you will,” Tomlin said in his weekly Q&A session with Bob Labriola of Steelers.com.

Fitzpatrick is dealing with an issue of his own but has no injury designation going into tonight’s game. He played with a broken hand against the Arizona Cardinals.

Typically, an inside linebacker relays plays from the coaches to the rest of the defense. But given the mess Pittsburgh has at the position that once was one of their best depth-wise, it’s best a veteran takes over.

It’s likely Roberts won’t play. There’s no sense in risking further injury at a position of need as the Steelers attempt to make a playoff run.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick played with broken hand vs. Cardinals

The only thing that kept Minkah Fitzpatrick going on Sunday was pure adrenaline.

In his first game back in four weeks, Minkah Fitzpatrick suffered another serious injury — only he didn’t notice at first.

Midway through the second quarter, Fitzpatrick realized he had broken his left hand. He estimates the injury was sustained on a tackle but didn’t notice until a few plays later when he tried to punch out a ball.

“Not too much,” Fitzpatrick told ESPN’s Brooke Pryor on how it affected his play. “They cast me up during one of the delays. I couldn’t grab with it, but I was able to still play and didn’t miss a play.”

Fitzpatrick is certain he’ll be out there four days from now when the Steelers host the 2-10 New England Patriots on “Thursday Night Football.”

“I’ll be fine. Wrap it up. Club it up.”

Prior to his hamstring injury, Fitzpatrick had recorded 54 total tackles in seven games. He added seven more in the loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin ‘leaving the light on’ for Minkah Fitzpatrick to return vs. Cardinals

Minkah Fitzpatrick could return for Pittsburgh’s Week 13 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick has missed a month with a hamstring injury suffered in the loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8.

As he often does with injured players making progress, Mike Tomlin stated in his Tuesday press conference that he’s “leaving the light on” for Fitzpatrick’s return against the Arizona Cardinals this week.

The Steelers are set to practice tomorrow, and they’ll see what the quality of Fitzpatrick’s reps is, but it’s likely we won’t know for sure until Friday whether he’ll suit up.

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Steelers WR Diontae Johnson sounds off on Minkah Fitzpatrick feud: ‘Don’t get it twisted’

A scuffle between Diontae Johnson and Minkah Fitzpatrick that managed to stay under wraps all week stirred things up Saturday night thanks to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

A scuffle between Diontae Johnson and Minkah Fitzpatrick that managed to stay under wraps all week stirred things up Saturday night thanks to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Johnson’s frustration started on the sideline with Mike Tomlin and spilled into the locker room following the Steelers’ Week 11 loss to the Browns. Things got heated between Johnson and Fitzpatrick, and it took T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward to cool it down.

Speaking about it after the win, Johnson brushed it off as a typical occurrence between teammates.

“Y’all are outside looking in… that’s my brother out there,” Johnson told Steelers media. “Players are gonna be players, we’re passionate about the game, everybody wanna win. Y’all can’t look at it as, oh, we had an all-out brawl or whatever. It ain’t that. Don’t get it twisted. Players on each and every team talk junk to each other. We squashed it. We won the game, that’s all that matters.”

The media is great at making something out of nothing. That’s what appears happened here. Nothing to see… move along now.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin gets testy about Minkah Fitzpatrick’s potential setback

Minkah Fitzpatrick is at risk of missing his fifth consecutive game when the Steelers travel to Cincinnati this weekend. 

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is at risk of missing his fourth consecutive game when the team travels to Cincinnati this weekend.

Mike Tomlin presented a recycled comment on the availability of Fitzpatrick, who he said is working hard to be a component of this week’s plan. “We get later in the week, we’ll let the amount of that participation and the quality of it potentially be our guide in terms of their availability,” Tomlin said in his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Two weeks ago — leading up to the Week 10 Green Bay Packers matchup — Tomlin had said Fitzpatrick was improving. It offered a glimmer of hope that he could return to help defend Jordan Love and Company. Instead, he’s remained sidelined and has yet to practice since injuring his hamstring in their Week 8 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tomlin seemed irritated when pressed as to whether Fitzpatrick experienced a setback. “Do I seem less optimistic now? No, there’s no loss of optimism.”

Pittsburgh is thin at safety with Keanu Neal and Elijah Riley recently going on injured reserve.

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