Tim Benz: If this is really the Steelers approach with Minkah Fitzpatrick, it's the right one - TribLIVE

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On Monday, All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was asked whether the long-discussed theory of moving him to various places in the Steelers defense was going to materialize in 2020.

“I don’t really see myself moving around a whole lot,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think last year we were successful with what we did. I don’t really see any need for change.”

That’s in contrast to much of the offseason dialogue about the Steelers potentially finding ways of getting Fitzpatrick closer to the ball more often as opposed to playing a predominantly center field/free safety position.

I followed up that question later in the Zoom interview with Fitzpatrick to make sure he was content with this decision.

“I was happy with All-Pro and Pro Bowl, yes sir,” Fitzpatrick responded.

Simple answer. So why has tracking the question been so complicated?

Remember, it was reported by ESPN.com that part of the reason the Miami Dolphins traded an exceptional young talent like Fitzpatrick to Pittsburgh last September was that he wasn’t happy being shifted all over the field. Prior to the teams playing each other in October, Fitzpatrick beamed about his comfort level at free safety with the Steelers.

Then, at the Pro Bowl, Fitzpatrick said he’d like to move around in the defense more often because he felt as if teams avoided challenging him in the deep middle of the field as 2019 rolled along.

True. To a degree.

Fitzpatrick generated seven turnovers in his first seven weeks as a Steeler. He was part of just one over the last seven.

But as we have chronicled in the past, six of the eight turnovers Fitzpatrick helped force as a Steeler last year were the result of fumbles or interceptions where somebody else on the Steelers defense was targeted.

So, frankly, the refrain of “the turnovers stopped because quarterbacks stayed away from Minkah” is a fallacy. For the most part, Fitzpatrick was good enough that he took the ball away when opponents weren’t challenging him in the first place.

Maybe, by May, that realization started to resonate for Fitzpatrick, as he dialed back his desire to play in various spots. “If the coaches want (me) to move around, I’ll move around. If they don’t, then I don’t need to. I wouldn’t say it’s a goal,” he said.

On Aug. 11, senior defensive assistant/secondary coach Teryl Austin sure made it sound like that’s what the coaches wanted, though.

“We have been able to talk some things out and really get down into the details of our defense,” Austin said. “I think that will give him a little bit more ability to show up in a couple of different positions than he was last year, which will help him get around the ball a little bit more and keep that production.”

However, fast forward to Monday when defensive back coach Tom Bradley spoke a few hours before Fitzpatrick.

“I don’t think we will consider moving him around more,” Bradley said. “I think we like that combination where he is back there. We do bring him into the box at times just to make sure we can change up our tendencies on them. We like him right where he is, right at free safety.”

So you see some inconsistency in the narrative?

Coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t seem to mind the various smoke signals if it means opposing offenses are guessing at the Steelers’ intent as much as we are.

“A guy that is multitalented like him provides us big-time versatility,” Tomlin said Monday. “We are excited about exploring that, but we aren’t going to tip our hand.”

Selectively dotting Fitzpatrick around the field in specialty situations isn’t a bad thing. It’s also not a bad thing to have a free safety so good that the deep middle of the field is hardly ever tested.

Fitzpatrick noted former Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed. The Hall of Famer scared plenty of quarterbacks away from testing him across the deep middle. But he also intercepted 64 passes, forced 11 fumbles and had 11 fumble recoveries.

“He was an athlete, but also was an intellectual when it came to the game,” Fitzpatrick said of Reed. “He did a lot of things to bait quarterbacks. He did a lot of things to learn the game, and with that, he was able to make plays that a normal safety wouldn’t be able to make.”

Fitzpatrick doesn’t need to freelance around the defense like Troy Polamalu. He doesn’t need to be anchored 15 yards off the ball on every snap either.

“We do have the capability to move him, put him at different spots,” Bradley said. “Formations will dictate that, motions, adjustments. But we’d like to keep him in center field.”

If that is where the conversation about how the Steelers will deploy Fitzpatrick ends, then they got it right, both Fitzpatrick and the coaching staff.

It just took a bit of a winding road to get here.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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