2022 Pittsburgh Steelers - Minkah Fitzpatrick Signs Extension

[Leeroy Jenkins]

16 minutes ago, steelers1080 said:

Hunt and Khan have reportedly had their 2nd round of interviews for the GM position. Wonder if there's a timeline for when the Steelers expect to make the announcement. OTAs start soon, I wonder if the Steelers will try to make the announcement before the end of OTAs so the GM can get in-house and start being involved in personnel decisions. 

 

Colbert's contract is up May 31.  So I suspect we get the announcement prior to that.

[5-ish Finkle]

1 hour ago, steelers1080 said:

Hunt and Khan have reportedly had their 2nd round of interviews for the GM position. Wonder if there's a timeline for when the Steelers expect to make the announcement. OTAs start soon, I wonder if the Steelers will try to make the announcement before the end of OTAs so the GM can get in-house and start being involved in personnel decisions. 

Colbert's contract doesnt expire til the 31st.  Assume new GM is likely "officially" announced then, at the earliest.

Still expect it to be Hunt.  Steelers have a ton of scouts who've been there a long time.  Hunt keeps continuity for that whole department.  An outsider probably wants to bring in his own guys, so could shake up scouting considerably.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

First team O-Line today was:  Moore - Dotson - Cole - Daniels - Chuks

Green took reps at Guard.  Not sure if he also took reps at Center as well.

Tuitt did not show up.  He is still at his home in Indy.

[steelers1080]

1 hour ago, Leeroy Jenkins said:

First team O-Line today was:  Moore - Dotson - Cole - Daniels - Chuks

Green took reps at Guard.  Not sure if he also took reps at Center as well.

Tuitt did not show up.  He is still at his home in Indy.

Heyward seemed to indicate he thought Tuitt would eventually show up. Not surprised at the starting line but a bit surprised they're trying Green at guard due to his size, feels more like Center or bust for him. I think he could still develop at center, but he'll need improve off the field on game day because we can't afford to lose games due to his inexperience. 

[Godsbrother]

I obviously have no idea what Tuitt's state of mental health is but it certainly seems to be beyond grieving the loss of a loved one.   I hope that he'll be able to come to grips with whatever he is dealing with and have a reasonably happy life. 

As far as him ever coming back and being the same football player it doesn't look too good from an outsider's perspective.

 

 

 

[steelers1080]

Omar Khan - GM

Andy Weidl - Assistant GM

Pretty good setup to me, I always thought Khan should have gotten a shot with other teams as their GM but was thought of as more of a numbers guy, not a player personnel guy. Teaming him with Weidl should cover both bases excellently. 

Wonder if this means Hunt will be gone soon or if he's willing to stay as head of player personnel until he gets a GM shot elsewhere. 

[steelers1080]

17 hours ago, Godsbrother said:

I obviously have no idea what Tuitt's state of mental health is but it certainly seems to be beyond grieving the loss of a loved one.   I hope that he'll be able to come to grips with whatever he is dealing with and have a reasonably happy life. 

As far as him ever coming back and being the same football player it doesn't look too good from an outsider's perspective.

A handful of Steelers podcasts and reporters are seemingly pushing the same narrative: Tuitt was out last year more for knee than for brother's death (maybe true, maybe not). He's expected to be back this year. If he wasn't coming back, he'd already be cut to free up the money with a post-june 1st designation. 

[Godsbrother]

4 minutes ago, steelers1080 said:

A handful of Steelers podcasts and reporters are seemingly pushing the same narrative: Tuitt was out last year more for knee than for brother's death (maybe true, maybe not). He's expected to be back this year. If he wasn't coming back, he'd already be cut to free up the money with a post-june 1st designation. 

I heard Ray Fittipaldo on the radio last night saying the knee was a minor clean up procedure and he could have been back in 6 weeks but he was dealing with grief over his brother's death.

Hopefully the knee is fine and he's come to grips with losing his brother and will come back motivated an in good shape.  

[Godsbrother]

Quote

Omar Khan, the Steelers vice president of football and business administration, is expected to be named the team's next general manager, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and confirmed by CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora. Khan will replace Kevin Colbert, who steps down following a highly successful 22-year run. 

Khan was one of six candidates the Steelers brought back for second interviews. The other five were Steelers pro scouting coordinator Brandon Hunt, Titans VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden, Buccaneers VP of personnel John Spytek, former Bills GM and Steelers executive Doug Whaley, and Eagles VP of player personnel Andy Weidl. Weidl is expected to be named as the Steelers' new assistant GM, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala.

 

I am glad for Omar Khan, he certainly deserves the opportunity.

 

Khannnnnn!

Edited May 25 by Godsbrother

[5-ish Finkle]

2 hours ago, steelers1080 said:

Omar Khan - GM

Wonder if this means Hunt will be gone soon or if he's willing to stay as head of player personnel until he gets a GM shot elsewhere. 

 

Id have to assum it means Hunt would take a position he thought moved him closer to "boss" than Asst GM (since id have to think the Steelers would have considered him for that too).

I do wonder if Hunt leaves what(if anything) it does to the scouting dept.  He goes, maybe others follow?  Some of those guys have worked together a long ### time.  Or a new head of scouting could just want some of their own guys, etc.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Sounds like Hunt may be taking Weidl's position (or similar) with the Eagles.  Do we get any compensation or only if he got a GM position?

[steelcityman]

DOnt Steelers get an extra pick for hiring a non-white as GM?   Does it need to be an outside hire?   Did that rule even go into effect yet?

[Wigglytuff's Gruff]

Omar Khan sounds like a Covid variant. 

Edited May 27 by Wigglytuff's Gruff
.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Weidl will be in charge of the draft board potentially:

 

https://steelersdepot.com/2022/05/tom-donahoe-andy-weidl-a-pittsburgh-guy-through-and-through-and-all-football/

[Godsbrother]

22 hours ago, steelcityman said:

DOnt Steelers get an extra pick for hiring a non-white as GM?   Does it need to be an outside hire?   Did that rule even go into effect yet?

Not sure but it would be great to get extra picks!

[menobrown]

On 5/25/2022 at 12:08 PM, Leeroy Jenkins said:

Do we get any compensation or only if he got a GM position?

Afraid it's just for GM position so no.

 NFL Diversity Rule

On 5/26/2022 at 11:42 AM, steelcityman said:

DOnt Steelers get an extra pick for hiring a non-white as GM?   Does it need to be an outside hire?   Did that rule even go into effect yet?

 

Again afraid no, has to be outside, rule is in effect.

 

Seems kind of bogus to foster and train an internal candidate all these years and you only get a comp pick if someone other then you promotes them but that's how it appears.

[steelers1080]

On 5/27/2022 at 12:47 PM, menobrown said:

Afraid it's just for GM position so no.

 NFL Diversity Rule

I read that it's the same level or higher in the front office, so if he was hired at the same position we would still get the picks, but because he's going to work in the scouting department it's not a parallel move, so we still miss out on picks. With our luck he'll get hired as a GM in 2 years and the Eagles will get the picks after he was a Steeler for a decade.

That said, I feel great about the Khan/Weidl combo. 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

My June 1 too early 53-man Roster:

QB (3):  Mitch; Pickett; Rudolph (Oladokun to practice squad)

RB (4):  Harris; McFarland; Durant; Watt

WR (6):  DJ, Claypool, Pickens; Austin; Boykin; Gunner

TE (3):  Friermuth; Gentry; Heyward

OL(9):  Adams; Dotson; Cole; Daniels; Chuks; Green; Legue; Haeg; Tucker

DL(7):  Heyward; Tuitt; Alualu; Leal; Wormley; Loudermilk; Adams

OLB (4): Watt; Highsmith; Avery; Tuszka

ILB (5):  Bush; Jack; Spillane; Allen; Buddy

DB (9):  Wallace; Witherspoon; Sutton; Norwood; Fitz; Edmunds; Kazee; Killebrew; Pierre

ST (3):  Bos; Harvin; ####z

[Godsbrother]

38 minutes ago, Leeroy Jenkins said:

My June 1 too early 53-man Roster:

QB (3):  Mitch; Pickett; Rudolph (Oladokun to practice squad)

RB (4):  Harris; McFarland; Durant; Watt

WR (6):  DJ, Claypool, Pickens; Austin; Boykin; Gunner

TE (3):  Friermuth; Gentry; Heyward

OL(9):  Adams; Dotson; Cole; Daniels; Chuks; Green; Legue; Haeg; Tucker

DL(7):  Heyward; Tuitt; Alualu; Leal; Wormley; Loudermilk; Adams

OLB (4): Watt; Highsmith; Avery; Tuszka

ILB (5):  Bush; Jack; Spillane; Allen; Buddy

DB (9):  Wallace; Witherspoon; Sutton; Norwood; Fitz; Edmunds; Kazee; Killebrew; Pierre

ST (3):  Bos; Harvin; ####z

Looks pretty good!

####z  

[geneyus]

Remove Tuitt from DL, he's retiring.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

28 minutes ago, geneyus said:

Remove Tuitt from DL, he's retiring.

 

Just saw that.  Ugh.  Any free agents left out there?

[Godsbrother]

32 minutes ago, geneyus said:

Remove Tuitt from DL, he's retiring.

Damn.  I had a bad feeling about him.

[steelers1080]

He did the Steelers a solid by making it post-June 1st. It felt like his teammates thought he was coming back, but the front office had to know or someone talked to him about it. 

His cap hit went from ~$14 million to ~$5 million with a $4.7 mil hit next year. 

Gives more space to extend Minkah. 

Really sad to see his career end before he began to decline, but I hope this is what's best for him personally. We grabbed some DL help and Alualu is coming back, our DL should be better than last year by a fair bit. 

Edited June 1 by steelers1080

[steelers1080]

6 minutes ago, Leeroy Jenkins said:

Just saw that.  Ugh.  Any free agents left out there?

The FO already planned for this. This is why they drafted Leal this year, Loudermilk last year, signed Wormley last year, re-signed Adams this year, etc. They were planning on Heyward having a few years left and Tuitt being a big question mark. Tuitt is walking away so the line will be Heyward, Alualu, and Leal/Loudermilk/Adams/Wormley.

We've got $18 million in cap space, but we still have to sign Pickett and Austin, and extend Minkah. There's not a ton of money there to get an upgrade over the DEs we already have. 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

2 minutes ago, steelers1080 said:

The FO already planned for this. This is why they drafted Leal this year, Loudermilk last year, signed Wormley last year, re-signed Adams this year, etc. They were planning on Heyward having a few years left and Tuitt being a big question mark. Tuitt is walking away so the line will be Heyward, Alualu, and Leal/Loudermilk/Adams/Wormley.

We've got $18 million in cap space, but we still have to sign Pickett and Austin, and extend Minkah. There's not a ton of money there to get an upgrade over the DEs we already have. 

 

I would still like a another vet in the mix.  Let's see if their first round grade on Leal was correct though -- I like him.

[Godsbrother]

To be honest I am kind of glad he is retiring.   He was great when healthy but he missed an awful lot and it would really suck to go into the camp relying on him only to see him change his mind right before the season kickoff.

Edited June 1 by Godsbrother

[Leeroy Jenkins]

The season is saved:  Steelers to sign Tuzar Skipper.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Good breakdown of projected usable cap space:

https://steelersdepot.com/2022/06/updating-steelers-2022-salary-cap-situation-following-retirement-of-de-stephon-tuitt/

Long story short, allowing for signing Pickett and Austin, as well as practice squad and in-season set-asides, the Steelers should have a little over $5MM to use on another FA if they so choose.

[JoeSteeler]

Sheldon Richardson would be nice.

[Drunken Cowboy]

4 hours ago, Leeroy Jenkins said:

Good breakdown of projected usable cap space:

https://steelersdepot.com/2022/06/updating-steelers-2022-salary-cap-situation-following-retirement-of-de-stephon-tuitt/

Long story short, allowing for signing Pickett and Austin, as well as practice squad and in-season set-asides, the Steelers should have a little over $5MM to use on another FA if they so choose.

There will be some camp cuts that might be worth picking up.

[steelcityman]

On 6/2/2022 at 2:29 PM, Drunken Cowboy said:

There will be some camp cuts that might be worth picking up.

 

Can trade Rudolph and I think he makes $5M.   They need a better RB2.   I think Durant from Duke could be the RB3, but snell and mcfarland stink.   I mean, they shouldnt be in the league stink.

[Godsbrother]

15 minutes ago, steelcityman said:

 

Can trade Rudolph and I think he makes $5M.   They need a better RB2.   I think Durant from Duke could be the RB3, but snell and mcfarland stink.   I mean, they shouldnt be in the league stink.

 

At this point I don't think Rudolph would fetch even a 7th round pick.

[Drunken Cowboy]

26 minutes ago, steelcityman said:

 

Can trade Rudolph and I think he makes $5M.   They need a better RB2.   I think Durant from Duke could be the RB3, but snell and mcfarland stink.   I mean, they shouldnt be in the league stink.

Spending money on a starting RB is dumb. There is no reason to pay anything for backups 

[steelcityman]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:21 PM, Drunken Cowboy said:

Spending money on a starting RB is dumb. There is no reason to pay anything for backups 

if you dump Snell and McFarland, keep a UDFA and sign someone for $1-2M thats not going to break any banks.  Najee is one ankle sprain from being out 2-3 weeks, and none of the current RBs behind him can do anything.

[steelcityman]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:11 PM, Godsbrother said:

 

At this point I don't think Rudolph would fetch even a 7th round pick.

yes he would, and the trade would be to get him off the books not to get a super star or high pick, and clear up the QB hierarchy moving forward.

[Godsbrother]

If you say so.  I have a hard time believing there is team eager to give up a draft pick and assume his contract. 

[Grid71]

Rudolph is on the roster because he wasn’t a threat to Bens status as the Steelers starting QB even with a worn out wing. He also performs admirably as a backup. That does have value, however the urgency the Steelers displayed behind securing 2 “better” players speaks volumes.

Maybe after training camp a team will look for a backup quality pro who won’t make waves. Hold a clipboard somewhere like Denver.  Could be a nice spot starter due to injury.  

[crushedspirit]

On 6/10/2022 at 10:24 AM, steelcityman said:

if you dump Snell and McFarland, keep a UDFA and sign someone for $1-2M thats not going to break any banks.  Najee is one ankle sprain from being out 2-3 weeks, and none of the current RBs behind him can do anything.

I've been wanting them to look at Jalen Richard for some time now. Perfect backup who can catch the ball as well. 

[menobrown]

On 6/10/2022 at 10:00 AM, Godsbrother said:

If you say so.  I have a hard time believing there is team eager to give up a draft pick and assume his contract. 

Since the Steelers drafted Big Ben in 2004 they have drafted 5 QB's not counting the two they took this season. None of those 5 managed to play  single snap for another team.

Going back to Colbert's first season and again not counting the two he took this year he's drafted 7 QB's other then Ben. Two of them, Tee Martin and St. Pierre, did latch on with other teams but for a grand total of 48 attempts.

Rumor was Steelers had a first round grade on Rudolph.

I don't mean to speak ill of Colbert and in general respect the job he did but my confidence in him drafting QB's was/is super low, that's part of the reason I was hoping they'd pass on drafting one early this year but as the say what's done is done.

[Godsbrother]

Steelers sign signed to Minkah Fitzpatrick to an extension today.  

Quote

PITTSBURGH -- Minkah Fitzpatrick is starting his summer vacation with a nice pay day after securing a deal to become the NFL's highest-paid safety.

The Steelers and their star safety agreed to a four-year extension that will pay Fitzpatrick over $18.4 million per year, WME Sports, Fitzpatrick's agency, confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

 

Edited June 15 by Godsbrother

[SoBeDad]

Fitzpatrick had a down year based on pff overall grade (59.8). Do PIT fans expect him to return to his play making excellence of the 2 earlier years?

[Godsbrother]

43 minutes ago, SoBeDad said:

Fitzpatrick had a down year based on pff overall grade (59.8). Do PIT fans expect him to return to his play making excellence of the 2 earlier years?

 

I think a lot of it had to do with having to help out in run support.   The run defense should be better but how much so remains to be seen.  Still it could hardly get worse.

[steelcityman]

1 hour ago, SoBeDad said:

Fitzpatrick had a down year based on pff overall grade (59.8). Do PIT fans expect him to return to his play making excellence of the 2 earlier years?

Last year was probably his best for tackling.   He was forced into making a lot of tackles on RBs.   

Steelers wont have to pay big money to a QB for 4 more offseasons, at least, so this was easy to get done.   Boswell should be next, and then maybe, if they want him, Johnson.

[steelers1080]

3 hours ago, Godsbrother said:

Steelers sign signed to Minkah Fitzpatrick to an extension today.  

It's a 4 year extension, so ~5 years $85 million, around $17 mil per year. I'm 100% ok with that. I think he was underrated last year with all he was asked to do, and with a potentially improved D-line he could return to being a dominant ball hawk. 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

This is a big contract, but less than he would have received on the open market.  Vince Williams tweeted the other day that many players are willing to take less than they would get on the market to play in Pittsburgh due to the culture/work environment, Mike Tomlin, the Rooneys, and the front office.

These quotes from Minkah kind of echo that:

"The thing I appreciate most about this organization is commitment to winning," Fitzpatrick said. "Everything we do, even me coming here, is a commitment to winning.

"It could've been a season where we lost our starting quarterback, legendary Hall of Fame quarterback, it could've been a season where they just tanked and decided to call it quits. But they went out and acquired me and acquired a few other guys and said we're going to do what we've got to do to win games.

"If you got to win on defense, you got to win on defense. It obviously wasn't a perfect season, but it was a season that was dedicated toward winning even though it wasn't prime conditions for winning. We went out there, and I feel like that set the tone for these last few seasons. It showed me this program is a winning program and they're going to do whatever it takes to win."

[Steeler]

I think it was Mark Madden who tweeted the Steelers have the highest paid defense and the lowest paid offense in the NFL.  I hope everyone on D can stay healthy this year so we can really see what it can do.  Also, they will be running the ball a lot, apparently, lol.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

14 hours ago, Steeler said:

I think it was Mark Madden who tweeted the Steelers have the highest paid defense and the lowest paid offense in the NFL.  I hope everyone on D can stay healthy this year so we can really see what it can do.  Also, they will be running the ball a lot, apparently, lol.

 

That's more due to the youth on offense rather than the lack of investing funds.

[Steeler]

4 hours ago, Leeroy Jenkins said:

That's more due to the youth on offense rather than the lack of investing funds.

That's true.  Also having two of the most expensive defensive players in the league contributes to the high end D salary.

[menobrown]

The Watt brothers dominant our cap.

I believe TJ's cap number for this year is higher then the ENTIRE starting offense.

And who has the highest cap number on the offense? Derek Watt.

Which of course means the Watt brothers have highest cap number on both sides of the ball.

[JoeSteeler]

Revisiting the Minkah Fitzpatrick Trade

The Steelers got the following:

Minkah Fitzpatrick.

2020 4th-rounder turned into OG Kevin Dotson who started the first nine games of 2021 before suffering an ankle injury that ended his season. He is expected to start in 2022. 

The 2021 7th-round pick became CB Tre Norwood who played in every game as a nickelback this past season. He had three starts, 1 INT, and 38 tackles. He is expected to be a valuable contributor going forward.

The Dolphins got the following:

With Pittsburgh’s 1st round pick of 2020, Miami chose OT Austin Jackson. He started 28 of 30 games at left tackle over two seasons on a much-maligned and one of the worst offensive lines in the league. Since the end of the season, the Dolphins traded for three-time Pro Bowlleft tackle Terron Armstead and agreed to a five-year deal worth up to $87.5 million. They also signed Cowboys four-year starting OG Connor Williams to a two-year contract. A starting job for Jackson is in deep jeopardy.

The 2020 5th-rounder was DE Jason Strowbridge who waived after one season, DNP in 2021, and is currently a free agent.

Miami traded the 2021 6th-round pick the pick to Kansas City in exchange for a 2021 seventh-round pick (258th overall) and running back DeAndre Washington. Washington played in three games in 2020 and gained 86 yards with no scores. He has since disappeared into thin air. That seventh-rounder (#258th) was then sent to Washington Football Team along with former #9 overall pick offensive lineman Ereck Flowers for a seventh-round selection (244th overall). That pick turned into RB Gerrid Doaks who was cut by the Dolphins four months after drafting him. He would be re-signed to the practice squad the next day. Flowers started all 16 games for WFT at guard last season. #258 turned into WR Dax Milne who played in 13 games with one start in the nation’s capital. He caught 9 passes for 83 yards. He is still on Washington’s 53-man roster.

 

Edited June 18 by JoeSteeler