The Minkah Fitzpatrick era in Miami lasted all of 18 games. The Dolphins’ 2018 1st-round selection wasn’t here for a long time, nor was he here for a good time. Fitzpatrick strong-armed his way out of Miami after just 2 games in 2019, citing philosophical differences in his usage. There have been plenty of occasions where Fitzpatrick has offered his perspective on what went wrong in Miami — and the odds are strong that we’ll never get the perspective of Brian Flores and Chris Grier on the matter.
But Fitzpatrick went deeper into his fallout with Miami than ever before in a new piece by Tyler Dunne over at Bleacher Report. The piece itself is extremely well written and offers some behind the curtain peeks at what exactly when down between Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins — although it all comes from the perspective of Fitzpatrick. Which raises some inconsistencies about the terms of his departure when you contrast it to his attitude in Pittsburgh. For example, take Fitzpatrick’s admission of going rogue at practice and bailing on bag drills.
“Finally, in August, Fitzpatrick confronted Flores about it. Nothing too serious yet. He just asked if he could get some coverage reps in, to show the new staff what he was capable of. Maybe seeing his athleticism in person would change their minds.
Right? Wrong. The trial lasted all of one practice, Fitzpatrick says, and he was given “barely” any coverage work at all.
That’s when Fitzpatrick decided he’d had enough and, he admits, went rogue. He wanted coaches to see it, even though they were refusing to. So he up and left those hand-to-hand combat drills and jogged across the field to 1-on-1s.
“They were frustrated at me for doing that, but I was like, ‘I’m not trying to sit here and punch a bag all day,'” Fitzpatrick says.” – Tyler Dunne, Bleacher Report
Compare that attitude to the one Fitzpatrick took regarding playing with the Steelers for the upcoming season. In a comment made back in late May, Fitzpatrick suddenly seemed to have little issue with playing on the second level.
“I just like going out there making plays and being where I need to be, and last year where I needed to be was in the middle of the field,” said Fitzpatrick. “It worked out fine. This season, just keep doing what we need to win games. If that’s [playing] corner, linebacker, whatever that may be, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Linebacker. Whatever that may be. But he has no time for “punching bags all day” in Miami? Ironically enough, Fitzpatrick’s core complaint with the Dolphins’ handling of his skills in 2019 was that the Dolphins didn’t envision a free safety role for him — until the very first game, that is, when Fitzpatrick was placed on the back end in coverage against the Ravens. From Fitzpatrick’s perspective, it set him up to fail.
“Everything came to a head Week 1 when, after a flurry of 11th-hour transactions, the Dolphins actually did throw Fitzpatrick back at deep center, even though he hadn’t practiced there at all. Even worse, Fitzpatrick was communicating with players he literally did not know. Players signed days prior were playing Sunday. . .
“It was my first time ever seeing them,” Fitzpatrick says. “I didn’t even know half their names while I’m out there on the field with them. In the middle of the game! I’m trying to communicate with somebody, and he’s looking at me like I have no clue what I’m talking about.” – Tyler Dunne, Bleacher Report
And to be fair to Fitzpatrick, yes — Miami probably should of afforded him more reps in deep coverage throughout the course of the summer. But a fact check of Fitzpatrick’s claim that he was playing with strangers on the back end doesn’t quite check out, either. The Dolphins’ snap breakdown for the game against Baltimore is as follows:
- LB Jerome Baker: 71 snaps
- CB Eric Rowe: 71
- CB Xavien Howard: 70
- LB Sam Eguavoen: 67
- DL Christian Wilkins: 64
- DE Charles Harris: 60
- DB Bobby McCain: 58
- DL Jonathan Ledbetter: 51
- SAF Minkah Fitzpatrick: 48
- DL John Jenkins: 47
- DL Avery Moss: 46
- DL Davon Godchaux: 44
- SAF Reshad Jones: 32
- LB Raekwon McMillan: 22
- SAF Walt Aikens: 19
- DB Steven Parker*: 17
- LB James Crawford*: 15
- CB Jamal Perry: 15
- CB Chris Lammons: 13
- LB Vince Biegel*: 11
- LB Deon Lacey*: 1
- DB Johnson Bademosi*: 1
Of all the defensive snaps taken by Dolphins defenders that day (806 combined), 45 (or just 5.5%) were taken by defensive backs or linebackers who weren’t on the roster at the start of training camp:
- DB Steven Parker*: 17
- LB James Crawford*: 15
- LB Vince Biegel*: 11
- LB Deon Lacey*: 1
- DB Johnson Bademosi*: 1
The numbers don’t necessarily add up to Fitzpatrick being handcuffed by not knowing the names of his teammates on the field because was the first time he’d ever seen them and the Dolphins put him out there with a bunch of street free agents — which was the impression Fitzpatrick gave.
All in all, the Dolphins probably could have managed Fitzpatrick differently. But in the aftermath of the deal, Fitzpatrick would go on the log an All-Pro season in Pittsburgh and the Dolphins would go on to right their locker room without having to cater to the whims and wishes of a highly talented but problematic personality. We probably could have seen it coming, too — based on what Brian Flores had to say about star players last August…several weeks ahead of the eventual trade of Fitzpatrick.
“It’s a team game. Stars are kind of a ‘me’ thing. I don’t — I guess I’m not — it’s a team game. There are 11 guys out there and they have to work together,” said Flores last year on August 3rd.
“If you have a star that wants to do his own thing, that just doesn’t work. I’m of the ‘put the team first’ mantra and these so-called ‘stars’ need to be on that page on this team. Hopefully that answers your question.”
Needless to say, picking and choosing what drills you want to take part in because you don’t want to “sit here and punch a bag all day” probably constitutes as someone wanting to do their own thing. Like Flores said: it just doesn’t work. For better or for worse. But one thing is clear — the more Fitzpatrick talks, the more it is clear he feels he was slighted in Miami. And maybe he was. Maybe the Dolphins will live to have regrets. But that doesn’t mean there’s not plenty of blame to fall at his feet, too. His actions since and his portrayal of the incidents in Miami make it very clear that his perception of himself and the team was plenty part of the problem.