NFL coordinator expecting a ‘bounce-back year’ from Minkah Fitzpatrick

When the Miami Dolphins traded cornerback Jalen Ramsey along with tight end Jonnu Smith earlier this summer, star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick stood out as the crown jewel of the trade package Miami received in return. Draft capital was involved in the move as well.

While Fitzpatrick may have had somewhat of a down year by his standards (he totaled just one interception on the 2024 season), one anonymous NFL coordinator is expecting Fitzpatrick to enjoy a “bounce-back year” with his new team in the 2025 season.

“He still has a lot to offer — incredibly hard worker, tone-setter, super solid running things on the back end and preventing big plays, things that go unnoticed,” an NFL coordinator said. “I’m expecting a bounce-back year from him.”

Fitzpatrick was ranked at the No. 9 spot among the best safeties in the league in a recent article from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that’s full of insight from folks in NFL circles.

Even though Fitzpatrick didn’t play at the top of his game last season, he was still one of the better safeties in all of football and earned a Pro Bowl selection. He accumulated 96 combined tackles (tied for the second-most in a single season of his pro career) across 17 games (all starts) in his swan song with the Steelers.

Few safeties have the individual accomplishments to stack up with Fitzpatrick’s since the start of this decade, as since the 2020 campaign, he has four Pro Bowl appearances, a pair of All-Pro nods and led the NFL in total interceptions once.

Back in the 2022 campaign, Fitzpatrick ranked tops in the entire league with six interceptions in 15 games played.

Fitzpatrick stands out as an ideal replacement for safety Jevon Holland, who agreed to a three-year deal with the New York Giants earlier in the offseason. After all, both players were registered as strong safeties in the 2024 season.

The 28-year-old can get off on the right foot towards a bounce-back campaign with the Dolphins with a strong performance in Miami’s first contest of the upcoming 2025 season. The Dolphins will kick off their 17-game slate with a matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 7.