After nearly six years away, Minkah Fitzpatrick is back in Miami with the Dolphins.
He's returned a man changed for the better. Fitzpatrick spoke with reporters on Monday for the first time since the Steelers traded him back to the team that drafted him in 2018, and Fitzpatrick spoke candidly on how he's grown over the last half-decade.
"I would say I'm definitely a lot more emotionally mature," Fitzpatrick explained. "I think I was very emotionally unintelligent back then. Like I just said, I learned from my mistakes and I tried to grow in that area. I tried to get to know the people around me better and learn how to communicate, learn how to not communicate. Just stuff like that, for sure."
Fitzpatrick's comments reflect the difference between where he was when he forced his way out of Miami back in 2019 -- due in large part to displeasure with how former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores was using him in Miami's defense -- and how much progress he's made since then. Instead of being bitter about returning to the team that willingly traded him one year after spending a first-round pick on him, he's not only coming back with an open mind, but an intent to finish his career where it began.
"Definitely. Like I said earlier, I'm really liking the energy and direction that this is going," Fitzpatrick said. "I think the culture of this locker room is one that wants to win and win now, but it's also something that I want to earn. I know it was reported that I wanted a new contract, but I just wanted to know that I was going to be here for more than a season and I got that.
"And now, I'm going to go out there, play All-Pro, Pro Bowl level and hopefully earn the respect of my teammates and the organization to have that long-term contract."
Fitzpatrick agreed to a revised contract over the weekend that added a $16.2 million signing bonus to his existing deal by converting base salary into instant cash, and handed the veteran a raise by moving $2 million in 2026 money into 2025. They also freed up $11 million in cap space with the revised deal, which gave Fitzpatrick the security he wanted in order to invest himself into the Dolphins moving forward.
Fitzpatrick turns 29 in November, meaning he's in line for one more big extension in his career timeline. He wants to sign such a deal with the Dolphins, an organization led by individuals (general manager Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel) in whom Fitzpatrick believes.
"I think there's a standard that Mike and Grier are trying to set and I think it's working hard, being disciplined, being committed to this team, stripping yourself of ego," Fitzpatrick said on Monday. "It's a very ego-driven sport and I think the best teams are the teams that remove the ego, let down the mask and the pride and play winning football, winning team football -- offense, defense, special teams -- and that's the message that they sent to the team. It's the same message that they sent to me."
Fitzpatrick's tone is drastically different from the one he left Miami with back in 2019. Perhaps his time in Pittsburgh provided him with the experiences he needed to better appreciate his place in his NFL career -- one that he's happy has circled back to Miami.
"I'm very excited. It's very nostalgic," he said. "We played here two seasons ago and I remember pulling up to the stadium and walking on the field. I felt like I was back in time and now it's the same feeling, just being back down here. Obviously, it's a different facility -- it's a beautiful facility -- but like I said, it's very nostalgic. A lot of the staff and trainers and stuff like that is the same, so it was almost like I just went back in time."
This time, Fitzpatrick's intent is different. He's fully invested in helping the Dolphins reach their goals.
