Former Alabama All-American’s ‘splash’ down in Pittsburgh Steelers secondary

In his first 60 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick recorded 17 interceptions. But in Pittsburgh’s past 28 games, the former Alabama All-American has one interception.

When asked during the NFL team’s offseason program what it will take for the return of “Minkah ball” to the Steelers secondary, Fitzpatrick said: “I just got to play football. That’s it.”

Pittsburgh defensive-backs coach Gerald Alexander had a lot more to say after getting that question.

“A lot of that is not necessarily dealing with the chasing of the results,” Alexander said, “but just how do we continue to master the process that puts him in position to make plays? A lot of that comes with alignments, assignments, being a great communicator, whether it’s putting himself or his teammates in positions of success or for whatever the opportunity presents itself. And then when those techniques and those opportunities align, that’s when splash plays happen.

“And so I’m not in the process of trying to chase results for Minkah or really for anybody. It’s really an opportunity to just develop the details that come with the responsibilities that we have that will lead to the results that we seek.”

Fitzpatrick also spoke about communication when reviewing the 2024 season, saying the Steelers had “too many instances where one guy thought one thing and one guy thought another and we weren’t on the same page and that led to a big play.”

Fitzpatrick’s solution to that is “leave no gray.”

“Football, I think, should be black and white,” Fitzpatrick said. “There shouldn’t be, in regards to execution and schematics, there should be no gray. It should just be this is how we’re doing it, this is how we’re communicating it. If I give you a thumbs up, you give me a thumbs up back. If I give you a thumbs down, you give me a thumbs down back. And it’s as simple as that. So when guys aren’t doing it, it’s establishing ‘No, this is what we’re doing, and if you don’t want to do it, then you ain’t going to be here.’ Or you’re not going to be on the field.

“We’re really pressing down and instilling that in everybody.”

As far as alignment and assignment, Fitzpatrick said: “We’re going to have to see once we get closer to the season.”

The major change for the Steelers secondary this offseason was the signing of cornerback Darius Slay to pair with Joey Porter Jr. A six-time Pro Bowler, Slay comes to Pittsburgh for his 13th NFL season off a Super Bowl victory with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Fitzpatrick’s interceptions can’t necessarily by correlated to the Steelers’ defensive stats. In 2022, when Fitzpatrick tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions, Pittsburgh ranked 10th in points allowed and 13th in yards allowed among the NFL’s 32 teams. In 2024, when Fitzpatrick had one interception, the Steelers ranked eighth in points allowed and 12th in yards allowed.

Game results line up better. In games played by Fitzpatrick, when he has an interception, Pittsburgh has an 11-5 record, and when he doesn’t, the Steelers have a 46-43-1 mark.

On its summer break now, Pittsburgh opens training camp on July 23 at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The Steelers start their three-game preseason schedule on Aug 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.