‘Thornhill Can Do That For A Lot Much less Cash’: Batko Theorizes Steelers’ Cause For Buying and selling Fitzpatrick

As part of an offseason full of roster turnover, the Pittsburgh Steelers moved on from Minkah Fitzpatrick and replaced him with Jalen Ramsey in the secondary. While Ramsey may be able to convert to safety, trading a safety and acquiring a cornerback does lead to some questions as to how the secondary will look going forward. If Ramsey stays at cornerback, Juan Thornhill and DeShon Elliott will likely be the starting safeties.

In his weekly chat for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steelers insider Brian Batko gave his perspective on why Pittsburgh may have felt it was best to move on from Fitzpatrick.

“If the Steelers saw a Minkah Fitzpatrick who too often was essentially just keeping everything in front of him, then maybe they figure Juan Thornhill can do that for a lot less money. Especially with DeShon Elliott making plays against the run and occasionally elsewhere in front of him,” Batko wrote.

Through the 2022 season, Fitzpatrick’s ability to force turnovers was a massive help to the defense. From 2019 to 2022, Fitzpatrick recorded 20 turnovers, 17 of them being interceptions. He even led the NFL with six in 2022.

However, the last two years haven’t been the same. Fitzpatrick had no interceptions in 2023 and just one in 2024. While he still played excellent against the run, he was brutal defending the pass. Fitzpatrick allowed a 78.8-percent completion rate and a 127.6 passer rating when targeted last year, according to Pro Football Focus Each of those were career-worst numbers.

The Steelers will miss his run defense. But DeShon Elliott should help negate what they’re losing in Fitzpatrick, as Batko alludes to. Elliott had a terrific year in 2024, one that earned him a contract extension last month, shortly before Fitzpatrick was traded. While Fitzpatrick has a much more complete resume, the argument could be made that Elliott was a better player last year.

Juan Thornhill, though, is much more of a question mark. He had a nice start to his career with the Kansas City Chiefs. However, he really struggled with the Cleveland Browns the past two seasons. Few Browns defenders made a real impact last year, but his struggles can’t be denied. Thornhill allowed a 141.7 passer rating when targeted and missed 9.3 percent of his tackles last season.

While Fitzpatrick became something of a franchise player in Pittsburgh, the Steelers may think a Thornhill-Elliott combination suits them better, especially at a cheaper price. That might not be all Fitzpatrick’s fault, though. His reputation did cause teams to stay away from him in the passing game. That’s likely part of the reason for his recent lack of interceptions.

Maybe Thornhill can play the same role Fitzpatrick did last year. Even if he has a good season, though, it’s hard to envision him being a big improvement. If the trade ends up being worth it for Pittsburgh, it’s likely going to come from good performances from Ramsey. Thornhill could prove to be a solid addition but asking him to completely replace Fitzpatrick could be asking a lot.