Mike Tomlin Compares Steelers New DB to Minkah Fitzpatrick

The newest Pittsburgh Steelers safety earned some high praise from head coach Mike Tomlin following the team's Week 9 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

During his postgame press conference, Tomlin lauded Kyle Dugger's efforts in his Steelers debut and likened his impact to that of Minkah Fitzpatrick after he was traded to the team from the Miami Dolphins in 2019.

"He's a veteran guy, and that's why you go get a veteran-capable guy like that," Tomlin said. "It's reminiscent of when we acquired Minkah Fitzpatrick, to be quite honest with you. He got to us in a similar time during the week. We were out in the Bay Area and he fit right in instantly. His talent showed, he made plays for us. Felt similarly with the contributions we were able to get from Dugger today."

Dugger's Numbers in First Steelers Game

Dugger was always going to have a pretty sizable role within Pittsburgh's defense after arriving via trade from the New England Patriots earlier in the week, but the placement of DeShon Elliott (knee) on the reserve/injured list alongside the absences of Chuck Clark (illness) and Jabrill Peppers (quadricep) made him invaluable to the team against a Colts team that came into the week averaging the most points (33.8) and yards (385.3) per game across the NFL.

As Pittsburgh forced five turnovers from Daniel Jones and held Indianapolis to 20 points, Dugger finished with four tackles while playing a whopping 77 defensive snaps, with 53 of them coming at free safety according to Pro Football Focus.

Tomlin also told reporters that he gave a game ball to Dugger after making a strong first impression at Acrisure Stadium.

"I can't say enough about Kyle Dugger," Tomlin said. "I just gave him a game ball in there. This guy got on the moving train and played a lot of defense for us today, and we needed it. We were really short at the safety position tonight, coupled with [DeShon] Elliott's injury, we had some illness and some soft-tissue injuries. We were running super thin, and that dude came in here and gave us some quality work. We're certainly appreciative of that."