The Pittsburgh Steelers went down the same road in 2021 as they appear to be heading towards in 2022. Last season it was super star TJ Watt who wanted a new contract as he headed into the final year of his contract. This year it's another super star on the defensive side of the ball, Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) reacts after braking up a pass intended for Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Willie Snead, bottom, in the end zone with no time left in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, in Baltimore. The Steelers won 28-24. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
While Fitzpatrick has been a fixture at Steelers offseason workouts, it looks like he's going to be taking the same route as Watt did last season. That means he will be at practices, take part in individual drills, but he won't take part in any team drills. Last year Watt would often workout on the side doing sprints and other agility drills while the Steelers ran 11-on-11 portions of practice.
TJ Watt watches as the Steelers go through team drills during training camp in 2021 -- @TimotRice (Twitter)
This week at mandatory mini camp Fitzpatrick has taken part in a lot of drills, but hasn't taken his spot at starting safety when they go into team work. After practice on Thursday safety Terrell Edmunds spoke to reporters about the impact of Fitzpatrick being on the field, but not 'on the field'.
"I mean he's still out there every day so he's still out there," Edmunds said. "It's just hes out there speaking his mind, he's still out there coaching us whenever he can, just giving us pointers whenever he can and just being in the background and giving us that background noise. It's definitely helping us now on the field because sometimes he might not be in the game. So you gotta have other guys that can be vocal. Other guys that can go out there and talk and be on the same page."
This week was the first time reporters were allowed back into the Steelers locker room since the Pandemic began in 2019. Media personnel had been locked out of the locker rooms and depended only on who the team would make available to talk via zoom calls and other various ways. Because of that all players were in play for interviews if they chose to do so. But Fitzpatrick told media members on Tuesday after the first day of mini camp that he wouldn't be answering any questions.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, who also is entering a contract year, said he’s not answering any questions.
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) June 7, 2022
Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the situation with Fitzpatrick earlier this week and said the team would 'play it by ear' with the super star. The Steelers now have 6 weeks before they report to training camp in Latrobe and between now and then the Steelers and Fitzpatrick could reach a deal. But if they don't it seems likely that Fitzpatrick won't be partaking in any team drills exactly how Watt didn't last year.
The issue that Pittsburgh needs to be concerned with is that they can't afford to lose Fitzpatrick to an injury because he's not in the right physical condition because he isn't fully practicing. It happened last season with Watt as he battled various muscle injuries for most of the season. It largely didn't affect him as he won Defensive Player of the Year but the games he left early, and didn't play at all the Steelers lost. They can't afford to lose games due to injury as each win and loss will be more important than normal with the uncertainty at quarterback.
Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin doesn't seem to have much concern over Fitzpatrick's situation at the moment.
“I have zero concerns about Minkah Fitzpatrick," Austin said. "He’s a unicorn. He’s always in great shape. He loves football. He’s got all the stuff you want, so I have zero worries about him. That stuff will take care of itself.”
If you're wondering, why Fitzpatrick is even bothering to show up and isn't just doing a normal hold out. It's because under the new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) which was agreed upon a few offseason's ago players are required to be fined when they don't attend mandatory workouts. Teams used to be able to waive the fines levied against the players once they were able to work out a new contract, but they're no longer allowed to do that.
So as a loop hole players are still attending practice but either sitting out completely or doing what Watt did last season.
