Steelers Now
New Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Darius Slay shared his reaction to safety Minkah Fitzpatrick being traded.
It will be difficult to find someone who wasn’t surprised to see the Pittsburgh Steelers trade three-time first-team All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick as part of their blockbuster deal with the Miami Dolphins. That includes some of the team’s newest additions, too.
New Steelers cornerback Darius Slay, who joined the team in March, recently reacted to the trade.
“When I saw the trade go through, I’m thinking it was just some draft picks,” Slay said on “The Richard Sherman Podcast.” “I thought it would be me, [Jalen Ramsey], Minkah, all of us back there. I’m like, ‘This gonna be crazy.’ Then I seen the final results like, ‘This is a little different.’ I’m looking forward to it.”
Pittsburgh did create another hole at safety with Fitzpatrick now out of town, and whoever eventually replaces him, has big shoes to fill.
Despite Fitzpatrick’s lack of turnovers over the past two seasons, he still proved to be one of the best safeties in the league while recording 160 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and seven passes defensed during the span.
Slay saw just that in his limited time with Fitzpatrick.
“I met Minkah a couple times down there. He’s a smart player. He is what Pittsburgh nation is,” Slay said. “He’s 10 toes down. He comes to work. He leads by example. He was a great teammate for me for the six days I was there. I was looking forward to seeing that because that would have been my real first time coming in with another All-Pro at that safety position. Now, I’ll replace him with another All-Pro, and I feel like one of the best in the game as well.”
Ramsey does give the Steelers defense even more flexibility as a three-time first-team All-Pro himself, but that doesn’t make the departure of Fitzpatrick any easier for those who have grown to love him.
Fitzpatrick has 608 tackles, five forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, 20 interceptions, 54 passes defensed and four touchdowns in his seven-year NFL career.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Darius Slay Reacts to Steelers Dealing Minkah Fitzpatrick
