Tag: Minkah Fitzpatrick

Minkah Fitzpatrick waxes poetic after Steelers embarrassing loss to Patriots

Minkah Fitzpatrick didn’t hold back in his frustration over how his team played.

For a second straight week, the Pittsburgh Steelers fell flat against a team they should have beaten and some of the players didn’t have their hearts in it. The usually subdued Minkah Fitzpatrick had a lot to say after his team’s loss to the New England Patriots Thursday night and he wasn’t shy about taking shots at him own teammates.

“In order to see the fruit, you’ve gotta toil for it,” he said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “I think too many people don’t want to toil for it. They just want to walk out here and think that they’re going to make plays and think that they’re going to perform at a high level. I think we need to have more people who want to work for it, not expect it to be handed to them.

“This is the NFL. Nothing’s handed to you. You got to earn everything. I think that dudes just think that because they’re wearing the black and gold, that they’re going to win games, and I think we need to check that mentality and make people realize that they got to earn that mentality, and they got to earn every single blade of grass, every single splash play and every single rep that they get out there. They got to earn it.”

Fitzpatrick was one of the only guys on the field Thursday playing hard for the Steelers. It might be too little too late but this was something I hope his teammates heard and take to heart.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

 

 

Steelers vs Cardinals: S Minkah Fitzpatrick says he’s playing on Sunday

The Steelers could get back two starters on defense this week.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been seriously missing star free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick has missed the last four games dealing with a hamstring injury. But this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, Fitzpatrick says he’s playing.

Fitzpatrick returned to practice fully this week and looks like he is back to 100 percent. Pittsburgh has been struggling at safety in recent weeks with the absence of Fitzpatrick as well as Keanu Neal who remain on IR.

The one good thing to come out of this has been the emergence of Trenton Thompson. Thompson came off the practice squad and straight into the starting lineup and has proven to be a ballhawk.

Defensive tackle Montravius Adams also seems to be on track to play this week after missing two weeks with an ankle injury. In his place, rookie Keeanu Benton has quickly developed into a star.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Steelers vs Cardinals: 8 players show up on Wednesday practice report

The Steelers got Minkah Fitzpatrick and Montravius Adams back to practice on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers got back to work preparing to take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13 of the NFL regular season. Eight players showed up on the practice report but there was much more good news than bad on the injury front.

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Tempers flare between Diontae Johnson and Minkah Fitzpatrick after loss

Emotions were running high after Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns.

According to ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter, there was a heated argument between Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the locker room after the Steelers loss to the Cleveland Browns last week.

Schefter reported that veterans T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward had to intervene and remind these guys the team needs to stick together. This is the second time in as many weeks we’ve heard about Johnson losing his cool.

It’s hard to fault any player for being fed up with what has been happening with this team. For guys like Johnson and  George Pickens, their hands are tied when the offensive scheme and the play of the quarterback hold them back so much. Hopefully, they will be the recipients of this new offensive scheme and the new play caller will really boost the play of quarterback Kenny Pickett which will in turn keep everyone else on the offense happy.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Steelers vs Bengals: S Minkah Fitzpatrick OUT this week

The Steelers will be minus Minkah Fitzpatrick again this weekend.

Despite another week of work, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will miss this week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. This will be Fitzpatrick’s fourth straight game he is sidelined.

The Steelers safety situation is made even worse by the fact that Fitzpatrick’s replacement, Keanu Neal went on IR and is out for the year.

In their place, former practice squad player Triston Thompson got his first start last week and played well.

Pittsburgh will also be minus defensive tackle Montravius Adams this week. Adams continues to deal with an ankle injury and will be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie superstar Keeanu Benton.

For the Bengals, we already knew quarterback Joe Burrow was out for the season as well as starting wide receiver Tee Higgins. Cincinnati will also be without cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]