Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick had the chance to respond on Thursday to those blaming him for the season-ending injury to Browns running back Nick Chubb on Monday night.
The former Alabama star told reporters that he wouldn’t do anything differently, but that he’s also hoping for a speedy recovery for the running back.
“I would say, one: they’ve never tackled Nick Chubb before if they’re telling me to go high,” Fitzpatrick said, via James Palmer. “Two: What I seen was it opened up, it’s goal line. I didn’t see anybody on him. I made the decision as soon as I seen the hole open up and him in the hole to go low.
“You can tell me how to tackle him low but it’s a fast game. It’s a game (where) you make decisions in milliseconds. Can’t really control what happens after you choose to make your decision. I already chose to go low. Somebody got on his back when I was going low, and what happened happened.”
“There’s nothing I really would do differently,” he added. “Again, like I said earlier, it’s very unfortunate. Nick Chubb’s a great player. He makes the game a lot better when he’s playing. Just hope for a speedy recovery.”
Former Steelers defender and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark defended Fitzpatrick after the hit.
“If a defender goes high and a player gets concussed he’s dirty!” Clark shared on X. “If a defender goes low and a player gets a lower extremity injury he’s dirty. Where can he hit a runner then y’all? I mean sheesh. The growing softness of this game and the sensitivity of those who watch it saddens me.”
More must-reads: