Is 2025 A Make-Or-Break Yr For Minkah Fitzpatrick?

For the past several years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been often referred to as having a “Big Three” on the defensive side of the football, with those three players being OLB T.J. Watt, DL Cameron Heyward and S Minkah Fitzpatrick. All three guys are identified as the top player, or one of the top players, at their position group in the league. They have the accolades and the career production to back it up.

Watt’s status in Pittsburgh is unquestioned as the former Defensive Player of the Year is set to break the bank this offseason once he and Pittsburgh agree on a contract extension. The same goes for Heyward as the team’s longest-tenured player, signing a contact extension last offseason that should likely make him a Steeler for life as he plays out the twilight of his career.

However, Minkah Fitzpatrick sits in a weird spot heading into the 2025 season that will likely define his future career status with Pittsburgh. The Steelers traded for Fitzpatrick at the beginning of the 2019 season, acquiring him from the Miami Dolphins for their 2020 first round pick. The trade initially was a huge success as Fitzpatrick shored up the defensive secondary and quickly became a leader on the defensive side of the football, making the Pro Bowl and being elected as a First Team All-Pro in his first season in Pittsburgh. That season, he picked off five passes (one returned for a touchdown) while deflecting nine passes, forcing two fumbles and recovering three more.

Since coming to Pittsburgh, Fitzpatrick has been named a First Team All-Pro three times and elected to the Pro Bowl five times, becoming one of the more well-known and respected safeties in the game. Still, recency bias hasn’t been kind to Fitzpatrick as the splash plays have been few and far between the last two seasons, having only picked off one pass, one forced fumble, no fumble recoveries, and seven pass deflections across 27 starts.

Granted, Fitzpatrick missed time in 2023 due to knee and hamstring injuries that likely hampered his play throughout the year. Still, his play last season was down from previous years, earning a 65.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. He never dipped below a 74.0 grade during his first three seasons in Pittsburgh. Not only has his production as a coverage defender dipped, but his effectiveness against the run also dropped, posting a 69.5 run defense grade, as our own Josh Carney previously highlighted.

The Steelers signed Fitzpatrick to a four-year deal worth $73.61 million in June of 2022, making him the highest paid safety in the league at the time of his signing. He still has two years left on his deal with cap hits of $22,355,000 in 2025 and $24,455,000 in 2026. Pittsburgh is unlikely to part ways with Fitzpatrick via release, but if he would have a third-straight down season in 2025, Pittsburgh would save $17.6 million against the cap with $6.855 million in dead cap should they choose to part ways with him heading to his age 30 season.

I’m not clamoring for Pittsburgh to cut Fitzpatrick. I’m hoping he bounces back and makes this article look stupid by the midpoint of the 2025 season. However, it’s evident that Fitzpatrick hasn’t recently played to the level of his contract. Seeing how S DeShon Elliott got rewarded with a contract extension to the tune of $6 million per year in new money, it can be hard to justify paying Fitzpatrick nearly four times that amount for similar production.

Minkah Fitzpatrick is an integral part of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense and is seen as one of the faces of the franchise, making a cut unlikely. Still, 2025 will likely be a make-or-break year for the star safety. His performance this season will go a long way into Pittsburgh’s decision in extending Fitzpatrick to another contract that would have him likely finish his career in the Steel City.