Minkah Fitzpatrick wins Steelers MVP; first defensive back to win award since Troy Polamalu

For the first time since 2018, someone other than T.J. Watt has been named the Steelers MVP. The award this season goes to free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was recently named to his third Pro Bowl since joining the Steelers two weeks into the 2019 campaign. 

Fitzpatrick is the first defensive back since 2020 Hall of Fame inductee Troy Polamalu to win the award. He is the fourth safety to win the award, joining Polamalu (2010), 2021 Hall of Fame inductee Donnie Shell (1980) and Glen Edwards, who won the award during the Steelers’ first Super Bowl season back in 1974. 

“It’s an honor for sure that my teammates voted. I’m honored that my teammates see me as the MVP,” Fitzpatrick said Friday, via’ the Steelers website. “This has been nothing but a team effort. It hasn’t been the season that we thought it would, but the great part about it is it doesn’t really matter what happened in the past. Coach (Mike Tomlin) always says it doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past. … You learn from it, move forward from it. We can change the whole season by how we play this weekend, how we dominate this weekend.”

The Steelers have issued a team MVP each year since 1969. After a run of offensive players won the award during the 2010s, Watt and Fitzpatrick are the only players to win it during the 2020s. Watt won his third consecutive team MVP honor last season along with the Defensive Player of the Year award after tying Michael Strahan’s NFL record for sacks in a single season. 

Steelers MVPs since 2000 

Despite missing two games with injuries, Fitzpatrick leads the NFL with six interceptions entering the final weekend of the regular season. He also has 11 pass breakups and 86 tackles. Fitzpatrick scored the Steelers’ first touchdown of the season with a pick-six of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow back in Week 1. He won AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors that week after tallying 14…