Former Steelers DL Believes Minkah Fitzpatrick Trade About More Than Just Production Vs Pay

The Steelers’ move to trade Minkah Fitzpatrick for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith was one of the defining moments of the offseason. Whether or not they improved themselves for it, the jury is arguably still out. But why exactly did they make that move? Former Steelers DL Breiden Fehoko believes it went beyond just performance-versus-pay calculations.

The Steelers traded a first-round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick in 2019, and he became a top defender in the NFL. He has the All-Pro nods to show for it, as well as the splash plays. But over the past few years, the splash plays dwindled, and so did the accolades. But his contract stayed the same, and Pittsburgh decided to make a move.

In June, the Steelers sent Fitzpatrick and a fifth-round pick to the Dolphins for Ramsey and Smith. While Ramsey has transitioned well to safety, he wasn’t supposed to be a full-time safety—not yet. As for Smith, well, perhaps the less said the better. Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, is having another okay season back in Miami.

But how did he end up back there? Breiden Fehoko recalled one slightly infamous incident in 2023. Fitzpatrick was injured and had a headset on during games. He didn’t like a call DC Teryl Austin made, and he let Austin know. Fehoko says Mike Tomlin burned a timeout almost to intervene, and Austin had to cool his safety down. He also said that Tomlin “didn’t like what Minkah said to TA.”

“I think there [were] a lot of things. I think it was maybe that instance. The post-game interview where Minkah [was] talking about reaping the rewards and not just showing up and expecting to ball out, I think that was another incident,” Fehoko said in explaining what he believes prompted the Steelers to trade Fitzpatrick. “And then ultimately, just the compensation of what they were paying him and the production just wasn’t equaling out to one another.”

In 2022, the Steelers signed Minkah Fitzpatrick to a four-year, $73 million contract extension. He made the first-team All-Pro list that year, and arguably had his best season. Over the next two years, however, he had just one interception and one forced fumble. He managed to make the Pro Bowl both years, which surprised even him.

“Pittsburgh, along with 31 other teams, they’ll make it known to you, if they’re paying you top dollar, they’re gonna expect top-dollar production,” Fehoko added of the other, obvious, major component of the Steelers’ decision to trade Fitzpatrick. “So I think it was a mix-up of those three things leading [into] and piling on top of one another. Eventually leading to the divorce of Minkah [Fitzpatrick] and the Steelers.”