Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has tested positive for COVID-19 (Twitter link via Kimberley A. Martin of ESPN.com). Fitzpatrick will join Ben Roethlisberger on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, leaving the Steelers potentially shorthanded for this week’s game against the Chargers. 
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Fitzpatrick’s availability will hinge on his vaccination status and forthcoming tests. If he is vaccinated and does not present any symptoms, he’ll be able to return after two negative tests. If he is unvaccinated and/or symptomatic, he’ll be out for at least ten days. That would mean no Fitzpatrick for the Chargers and potentially impact his availability for Nov. 28 against the Bengals.
The Steelers, sans Roethlisberger, tied the Lions on Sunday with QB2 Mason Rudolph under center. They’re now 5-3-1 on the year, still within striking distance of the 6-3 Ravens for the NFC North lead.
The Steelers traded for Fitzpatrick midway through 2019, shipping first-, fifth-, and sixth-round picks to acquire the star safety. He earned yet another First-Team All-Pro nod last year, tallying four interceptions, 79 total stops, and eleven passes defensed along the way. He also took one of those interceptions back for a pick six, giving him four career defensive TDs. For what it’s worth, he hasn’t been quite as sharp this year — Pro Football Focus has him ranked just 88th out of all qualified safeties.
What a bleak period this is for Pittsburgh sports. As if having subpar, overrated or simply old talent wasn’t enough, they can’t seem to stay out of their way when it comes to COVID and injury. The hits just keep coming
‘Bleak’ is almost a compliment for the Pirates.
Can you even call it a big loss at this point? He’s been a non-entity all season.
I wouldn’t go quite that far, but he’s not been as good as last year by a long shot. But you could say that about almost everyone on that defense not named Watt or Heyward. The whole unit just feels dysfunctional and out of sync.
I’ve supported Tomlin and Colbert from the start but your usage of the word “dysfunctional” is right on target to describe these past few years. This particular season has been the icing on the cake. The hype that keeps repeating this is a contender is just that. Spend any amount of time watching other teams and it becomes clear the hard-headed approach to not addressing the QB position, the O-line and an incredibly suspect secondary, among other areas, is mind numbing. Add to that offensive play calling that is a mystery to even the most casual fan and a defensive coordinator who makes us opine for the LeBeau days, and it’s a struggle to watch them. Don’t the empty seats at Heinz speak volumes. They drafted well in selecting Najee and Muth this past year but boy, they’ve really drafted scrap over the past few years. You’re right. All they have on defense is Cam and Watt. High smith may turn out to be a stud. But this is no contender and doesn’t look to be if they insist on keeping things status quo for the foreseeable future. And Minkah? I could be wrong in saying that their initial plan to use him as a Troy-type monster man back there was chucked out this year, but I’d wonder just what the thinking in their approach with him this season. Sure looks like they’ve placed too much stock in D-backs who simply can’t cover
I’ve respected your opinions on both this and the MLB forums, and I do here as well, you are pretty much spot on. The team is on a gentle but noticeable decline, but the team still seems to carry the much of the arrogance and swagger on recent past… which is a problem as they’re not as good as they were. I have tons of respect for Tomlin as a coach and as a man, but he has his shortcomings, and they seem to be getting exposed more and more frequently.
As to your point about empty seats at Heinz, I’ve noticed that too. Some of that can of course be attributed to COVID, but I think that many of the fans aren’t dumb, and they know that they are seeing an inferior product compared to recent years. Truth be told, I think another factor may be the dirty little secret that many fans, including yours truly, have been realizing more and more as years go by: Heinz Field really isn’t a great place to watch a football game. The seats are cramped and there aren’t enough concessions, and IMO there are often too many fans who think that it’s a requirement to get cross eyed drunk in order to go to a game. I used my season ticket less and less for a long time and eventually I stopped going, partly because of the cost but also because I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. And I certainly wouldn’t want to go see a mediocre product… but I’m afraid that’s what Steeler fans might need to prepare themselves for.
I agree on your point about Heinz field. The seats are way too crowded, trying to get in is a huge pain, and people really do believe they need to get black out drunk before the game.