Minkah Fitzpatrick has wasted little time making his mark on the New York Jets defense, and now one of the players on the other side of one of his biggest hits has backed him up.
The Jets traded for Fitzpatrick expecting two things: leadership and impact plays. They’ve gotten both.
In Week 4, he returned from a groin injury that cost him two games and immediately changed the conversation around New York’s defense by intercepting Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent. It was the Jets’ first interception in almost a year and a half, ending the NFL’s longest-running drought.
That kind of presence has become part of Fitzpatrick’s calling card in New York. The former Miami Dolphins draft pick has brought a much more physical edge to the unit, and some of the collisions he’s delivered have drawn plenty of attention.
One came in Week 5 against Cleveland Browns wide receiver KC Concepcion, a hit that sent Browns fans into an uproar and had some calling for the NFL to kick Fitzpatrick out of the league. But Concepcion’s own view of the play cuts against that reaction.
Concepcion was concussed on the hit and did not return to the game, though he now appears to be fine and is expected to be ready for Cleveland’s Week 6 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. Asked Friday about the play, he didn’t sound like someone who thought Fitzpatrick crossed the line.
"I know the game that I started to play. This game is a very physical game.
To me, it wasn't a dirty hit. It was just a football play."
That answer lands differently after the reaction from Browns fans, but it fits the way Fitzpatrick has played throughout his nine years in the NFL. He’s a safety whose job is to arrive with force when the ball gets to his area, and that’s exactly what he’s been doing for the Jets.
For Cleveland, Concepcion’s return to practice is the encouraging part of the week. For New York, Fitzpatrick keeps showing why the Jets wanted him in the first place.
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