Steelers' Minkah Fitzpatrick hopes to get back to playing 'Minkah ball'

Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is coming off the least productive season of his six-year NFL career.

In 2023, the four-time Pro Bowler had a career-low 64 tackles and three passes defensed while not generating a single turnover.

Of course, that was unlike Fitzpatrick, who had been one of the league's best ballhawks the previous five seasons. During that time, he registered four forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, 19 interceptions, and four touchdowns.

Fitzpatrick's down year was also a product of him only seeing the field for 10 games due to injuries, but he believes Pittsburgh's newest additions will allow him to play more freely.

"Just let me play ball," Fitzpatrick said via the team's official website. "That's it. Minkah ball."

The 27-year-old was moved all around a season ago, which didn't allow him to play in the middle of the defense, where he earned All-Pro honors in 2020 and 2022.

The free-agent addition of safety DeShon Elliott should allow him to return to playing his instinctual type of ball again this season.

Elliott isn't the only one who Fitzpatrick will benefit from playing with. New cornerback Donte Jackson and linebacker Patrick Queen, among others, will let the former All-Pro get back to doing what he does best. 

"As many great players as you could get in the field is going to help Minkah play Minkah ball," Fitzpatrick added.

On paper, the Steelers' defense should be even better than it was a year ago when it allowed the league's sixth-fewest points per game (19.1).

Fitzpatrick believes the team's early work this offseason will pay big dividends in the long run.

"I think it's important when you have a lot of new faces in the building, and this year, we have a lot of new faces, not just players but staff," Fitzpatrick concluded. "You want to start forming relationships early to make sure everybody's on the same page."