Minkah Fitzpatrick

The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo writes that if the Steelers are going to make a significant change on defense, “the way to do it” is trading Minkah Fitzpatrick.

There’s been quite a bit of smoke about the idea of trading Fitzpatrick this offseason. He’s in the second-to-last year of a four-year, $72.98 million extension signed in 2022 and on a $22.3 million cap figure for the 2025 season. Fitzpatrick’s PFF coverage grades have not painted him as the same kind of massive plus he had been from 2019-2022, and his run defense also suffered this season. Entering his age-29 season, we agree with the premise of using the resources differently for the Steelers, but are struggling to think of a team that wants to pay a good safety that kind of cap figure and would give up the kind of draft capital that would make this worth Pittsburgh’s time.