- yesterday
Minkah Fitzpatrick finally breaks his silence and addresses his return to Miami… even though he didn’t really want to answer any questions about his first stint with the team.
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00:00All right, let's do headlines.
00:02We're going to play this Minka Fitzpatrick sound here.
00:04I promise we're actually going to play it right now.
00:06Man, we ain't never going to hear from Minka, man.
00:08Did Minka talk?
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00:18Typically, when there's a cut from a player or a coach,
00:22especially Mike McDaniel, that's over like 60 seconds,
00:26I would skip it.
00:27All right, just pulling back the curtain here.
00:29I would skip it because it's just too long,
00:32especially if it's Mike McDaniel.
00:33I can't emphasize that enough.
00:35But Minka today opened up when he approaches the podium.
00:40And this was something we talked about last week.
00:42He gets traded here, didn't have a media availability.
00:45And then he was supposed to speak, I think, day two of camp.
00:47And he didn't.
00:48And it was, quote unquote, push back to a later day.
00:50We were kind of all thinking, like, what's the deal with that?
00:54He opened up today by giving a statement.
00:57This was the statement from Minka Fitzpatrick.
01:01Before we start asking questions, I want to make a statement real quick.
01:06I know I haven't addressed the media or posted on social media.
01:10One, I'm not a big social media guy.
01:12You ain't going to see me on there, period, point blank.
01:16Two, in no way, shape, or form was that an expression of frustration about coming back to Miami.
01:22Three, you know, I want to thank the city of Pittsburgh, the fans of Pittsburgh.
01:28You guys treated me very well.
01:30I enjoyed my time there.
01:31I played with some great teammates.
01:34It was very unfortunate the way things ended.
01:37But, you know, it's a part of the business.
01:38And I'm extremely, extremely excited to be a Miami Dolphin.
01:43Again, my silence was not a reflection of how I felt about this team or this organization.
01:51I've been here in the building for about a week now.
01:55And I'm extremely excited about this season.
01:57I think we have a very, very high ceiling.
01:59We have a lot of young, hungry, passionate guys combined with a lot of guys who played a lot of game and have a lot of accolades.
02:05So this is an organization that I'm extremely proud to be a part of.
02:12And, again, my silence was nothing to do with my feelings towards the Dolphins organization.
02:21With that being said, I'm not going to take any questions about how the transaction went down.
02:26I'm not going to take any questions about Pittsburgh or previous coaches or anything like that.
02:31I would like to respectfully talk about this current situation, this team, my players, my coaches.
02:38And, you know, I would appreciate if you would all respect those wishes.
02:45Yeah, put the hammer down on the ass.
02:47You really did.
02:49And that was very well said.
02:50He's like, listen, man.
02:51And now that we know there was a contract situation kind of, I would imagine, bubbling behind the scenes, Minka gets a new deal or he doesn't get a new deal.
02:58They kind of reconfigured his deal and he gets a little bit more money now.
03:03He gets the signing bonus, the guaranteed money.
03:06I guess it makes sense.
03:07Like that was happening behind the scenes and he wanted to wait till that was finalized to come out and talk.
03:13But he did put the hammer down.
03:15And he's letting you know, like, hey, my silence was not a reflection of me not wanting to be in Miami.
03:21And I have no reason to not believe him.
03:25Let's be honest.
03:26He's saying, do not ask me about Brian Flores.
03:29Do not ask me about leaving or coming back.
03:31Ask me about the 2025 Miami Dolphins.
03:34And that's all I'm going to talk about.
03:36And he, Josh, you're already shaking your head, Josh.
03:39He doesn't get to the side where reporters get to ask him.
03:41Those are totally fair questions.
03:43He set parameters and he doesn't want to talk about it.
03:46Josh, you'll respect that.
03:48How he came out and set the standards early.
03:50I'm not talking about Flores.
03:51I'm not talking about leaving.
03:52I'm not talking about coming back.
03:53I'll talk about camp.
03:55That's fine that he wants to say that.
03:57But nobody has to listen to him on those suggestions.
04:01And he doesn't get to the side what reporters ask him.
04:05It's not like they're asking about his personal life.
04:08Those things are very relevant to his journey and his career.
04:11Don't ask me about the transaction coming from Pittsburgh to Miami.
04:15We're not supposed to ask you about how it all came together, how you return to the Dolphins.
04:19Give me a break.
04:21I don't want to talk about it.
04:23Okay, but don't tell someone you can't ask.
04:25Ask.
04:26And would you rather him?
04:28Because this is what they teach you to do.
04:29I'll be honest, Josh.
04:30So when you left the first time, the thing with Brian Flores, you know, there was reports that you and Brian Flores didn't get along and he didn't want to play you in the right position.
04:40And was that the reason why you demanded a trade?
04:43I don't want to speak about that.
04:45Is that better?
04:46Yes.
04:48That's better than him just saying it up front.
04:49I'm not talking about the transactions.
04:51Yes.
04:52Well, I mean, they ask him anyways.
04:54So I'll play the audio.
04:57This was a question regarding his first stint with the Miami Dolphins.
05:03How do I look back on it?
05:06Just like any time you look back on life, I think there's highs, there's lows, there's blessings, there's pros, there's cons.
05:12You learn from the blessings.
05:17You learn from the lessons and keep it pushing.
05:19That's what you want to hear, Josh.
05:21Learn from the blessings and learn from the lessons.
05:24That's what you want to dig for.
05:26It was actually a creative way to ask him about what he didn't want to talk about.
05:31But yes, give me the cliche BS instead of telling people what they can and can't ask you when they're relevant questions.
05:38Okay.
05:39I just don't like how it comes off.
05:42And it doesn't matter what I think, I guess, as far as what the look is.
05:45And nobody, nobody's going to play the violin for Chris Perkins, not being able to ask him, you know, about how it fell apart with Flores or whatever.
05:53But like, to me, see how easy that was, Minka?
05:57You just gave a cliche BS answer to a question you didn't want to ask about.
06:00You didn't have to go on a whole preamble about it.
06:02Just let him ask.
06:03You know what's coming.
06:03And give up the cliche.
06:05I don't understand.
06:06And I've said it a number of times in different ways through this week of him not talking, Josh, I've been around Minka some.
06:15He's not the life of the party.
06:18So we need to learn from our blessings and learn from our lessons and just pros and cons.
06:23We just move on.
06:25How many different ways did he say there were some good and some bad?
06:28He's not the life of the party, Crowder, but he knows how to speak, right?
06:37Like, just, that's why, that's why it is funny.
06:41Look, man, like, these guys have been waiting to talk to Minka for a while.
06:46So he knew the questions that were coming.
06:49And he, as Appel's saying, he could say whatever he wants.
06:51Those questions are coming one way or another.
06:53And whether or not they all happen now or whether they happen in the future, at some point, one of the reporters is going to ask him, so what do you, now, you know, maybe week three, hey, three weeks under Mike McDaniel, what's the difference between head coaches you've had in the past?
07:10Mike Tomlin, Brian Flores, and Mike McDaniel.
07:13Like, those questions are coming, whether he wants them or not at some point.
07:16Yeah.
07:17Oh, you know, I just, I play him the coach.
07:19I really enjoy different styles of teaching, different styles of coaching, and you see the success, you know, in the scoreboard.
07:25The scoreboard shows the success of a coach.
07:28He just didn't say anything.
07:30We get taught how to not say nothing.
07:32For sure.
07:33And as he demonstrated, he's fully capable of answering the question he doesn't want to answer by still answering them, which is why I didn't understand.
07:40It just comes off so odd to me.
07:42Just answer the question the way you did.
07:44And we're not even having this conversation.
07:46Very, very, I don't know.
07:49You don't take it as just cocky or dismissive.
07:51He's super intelligent.
07:54He is raised well, strong family, like smart kid.
07:59He just doesn't like the antics of, he's like Nick Saban if he was actually an athlete.
08:06Like, what's the point of me talking to you guys?
08:08Like, you can't help me get an interception or make a tackle.
08:10He doesn't like the media.
08:11I would say, I'm not speaking for him, but I'm saying like being around him with Dolphins and then we went to Pittsburgh and we're around.
08:17He doesn't like the media.
08:19He just loves ball.
08:20He's like Michael Beasley with basketball.
08:22I just want to play ball.
08:23Like, he just wants to play football.
08:25He doesn't want all this outside crap.
08:26And I totally understand that.
08:29And I know that there are some reporters, not necessarily down here, but in general, who have ulterior motives.
08:33And they try and get you with these gotcha questions.
08:36But I don't want to do the, oh, you get paid all this money.
08:39Like, Minka, you can take 10 minutes once every three weeks to talk to reporters and answer questions.
08:46Like, well, it's not like we're asking him to perform brain surgery and a heart transplant on somebody.
08:50Like, just answer a question or three.
08:52Like, I don't know if you're there for eight minutes.
08:54It's okay, Minka.
08:54It's going to be okay.
08:57We're inconveniencing you because you've got to spend seven minutes talking to Baz Jackson.
09:01I mean, give me a break.
09:02I disagree with this, but I've heard athletes say it.
09:07I have my job without y'all.
09:10You don't have your job if I don't talk to you.
09:14I think it's wrong because of the fact that the media pushes the fandom, pushes the salary cap, pushes sales.
09:20Pushes, all that stuff.
09:22But a lot of athletes think, like, I'm great at football.
09:26You want to talk to me to get a story.
09:28I don't need you to make a tackle.
09:30Why am I wasting my time talking to you?
09:33I disagree with it, Josh.
09:34I swear I do.
09:35But that's how a lot of athletes think.
09:37That's how a lot of athletes think.
09:39Like, there's nothing you can do for me other than make me look bad in the media.
09:42And that may be true, and maybe Minka's had difficult experiences with that in the past.
09:49But, again, to me, it's such a minor inconvenience for a player who, like Minka, is already.
09:57I'm sitting there dancing around, and, hell, I'm not even the star of the team.
10:00But I know a lot of guys.
10:02Ronnie Brown hated the media.
10:05Like, let me.
10:05Like, Ronnie literally was like, bro, let me just run the ball.
10:08Like, why do they want to talk to me every damn day?
10:10He just didn't enjoy it.
10:12You can also control the narrative if you speak to the media.
10:15Like, I know maybe they can sometimes twist it another way.
10:18But if he was as firm as answering the questions as he was about not wanting to answer them,
10:24he still gets to control the narrative.
10:26The thing is here, I understand Minka Fitzpatrick not wanting to dive deep into his past in Miami.
10:36Like, I get it, right?
10:37That probably wasn't a fun time for him.
10:38The way that he left Miami was very controversial, especially considering what ended up happening in Pittsburgh.
10:46He didn't want to do it in Miami.
10:48He did it anyways in Pittsburgh.
10:49Whatever.
10:50But the point is, it's natural for a player who left controversially to come back to that organization.
10:57In a big surprise trade, by the way.
10:59There was no rumors or chatter about Minka Fitzpatrick coming back.
11:02That was probably the last player on the Steelers roster anybody expected to come back to Miami.
11:06It's natural he comes back.
11:09People are going to be curious.
11:11People, fans, are going to be interested in how that played out and how he feels about it.
11:17And then the prolonged silence after the fact led to some questions, which I thought he handled well in that opening statement.
11:24But it's natural.
11:25Like, hey, these guys are here.
11:27They have to find out.
11:28It's their job.
11:30And look, he doesn't have to answer it.
11:31You're right, right?
11:32He doesn't have to answer it.
11:32And you don't have to see the benefit in it either.
11:35But those questions, to Appel's point, they're not unfair questions.
11:38No.
11:39Nowhere unfair.
11:40I agree with what y'all are saying.
11:42All you just said, Solana, the fans want to know.
11:45The media wants to know.
11:48We're going to talk to Chris Perkins here in a second.
11:50He wants to know.
11:51Hal Habib wants to know.
11:53Barry wants to know.
11:54Joss wants to know.
11:56Will wants to know.
11:57Clay wants to know.
11:58Mike Cunha wants to know.
11:59Jim Barry wants to know.
12:01How does that benefit Minka Fitzpatrick?
12:04No, it doesn't.
12:05It doesn't at any standpoint of his life.
12:08He's going to have the same salary.
12:10He's going to be a Pro Bowl safety.
12:12He's going to go home every night to his wonderful family.
12:15I didn't feel that way, but a lot of players do.
12:19I'm not saying here that I don't like Minka Fitzpatrick.
12:22Or that I think he's going to have a bad season.
12:24Or that he's a bad player.
12:25He's a really good player.
12:26And hopefully he's able to bounce back.
12:27And give the Dolphins what they need in the secondary.
12:29And he looks like he did a couple of years ago.
12:32I just think it's in general.
12:34He's the example at this point.
12:36When athletes and coaches react like this.
12:40Over something that is obviously coming their way.
12:44And only makes it so that conversations like this are happening.
12:47Where we're not talking about him on the field.
12:50We're talking about how he's taking a stand.
12:52Like who cares, man?
12:54Like honestly.
12:55Just do.
12:56You go on this.
12:57Again.
12:57You go on this whole preamble about it.
12:59And then you answer the question anyways.
13:00In a way you could have just done from the beginning.
13:01Well, he was asked if he's surprised to be back in Miami.
13:07Here's Minka Fitzpatrick.
13:09Yeah.
13:09I'm very excited.
13:10It's very nostalgic.
13:12We played here two seasons ago.
13:16And I remember pulling up to the stadium and walking on the field.
13:19And I felt like I was back in time.
13:22You know what I'm saying?
13:23And it's the same feeling just being back down here.
13:26Obviously it's a different facility.
13:28It's a beautiful facility.
13:29But, you know, like I said, it's very nostalgic.
13:33A lot of the staff and trainers and stuff like that is the same.
13:36So it was almost like I just went back in time.
13:40You know what I'm saying?
13:41So it's been fun.
13:42And, you know, my family's down here.
13:44So it's good to be back close to them.
13:46How surprised are you to be back here after leaving, you know, by trade?
13:52It's business.
13:53Was that Hal on the question or was that Dave Hyde?
13:58I know Hal.
13:59My Hal's my man.
14:00I saw him at the Panthers game.
14:03Yeah.
14:04And then one more.
14:05One more just to wrap this up.
14:07This is Minka Fitzpatrick on, you know, a potential long-term future with the Miami Dolphins.
14:14Oh, yeah.
14:15Definitely.
14:15Like I said earlier, I'm really liking the energy and the direction that this is going.
14:23I think the culture of this locker room is one that wants to win and win now.
14:28But, you know, it's also something that I want to earn.
14:31I know that it was reported that I wanted a new contract.
14:33But I just wanted to know that I was going to be here for more than a season.
14:38You know what I'm saying?
14:38And I got that.
14:39And now, you know, I'm going to go out there and play, you know, all pro, pro, pro bowl level.
14:45And, you know, hopefully earn the respect of my teammates and the organization to have that long-term contract.
14:52Well, they're going to need him to play at a pro bowl level.
14:54That's for sure.
14:55But, man, I believe him when he says he's happy here.
15:00Like, it's a different regime.
15:01Everything that he didn't like about being here before, I think, from what we know or what we think we know,
15:08had to do with one person.
15:09That person's not here anymore.
15:10So, he got his money.
15:12He got his guaranteed money.
15:14And, yeah, man, he's back where his family's at.
15:18I believe all that.
15:19I think everything he's saying is genuine.
15:20I really do.
15:21And, yeah, I don't believe him either.
15:24Oh, no.
15:24But if you think about it, the Flores approach, and actually we talked about it with Mike McDaniel is the polar opposite of Flores.
15:32Yeah.
15:33But I don't think it was Flo's approach.
15:36I just don't think they mess with each other.
15:39Because, man, Tomlin has a similar approach.
15:42He has the credentials to back it up.
15:44But doesn't Mike Tomlin have a similar, like, my way or the highway?
15:48Like, he runs things the way he wants to run things?
15:52Like, the difference is Tomlin has the credentials where you respect it and Flo didn't.
15:57Flo was just coming from a place where that's the way it was run.
16:00He was trying to implement it in Miami.
16:02I think Flo came from a place of employee, employer, where I know Mike Tomlin doesn't do that, especially to a Pro Bowl player.
16:11When you're that guy like Mike will bring you over his house, meet his wife, hang out, have dinner.
16:15Where Flo had that very much Bill Belichick approach where do your damn job and, like, you're running back one.
16:23You're strong safety one.
16:26You're not Minka.
16:27You're the guy that comes up in cover three.
16:31And I don't think – I know Tomlin doesn't go that way.
16:34And I know McDaniel doesn't go that way.
16:36And I don't think Flo's approach – I don't think Flo gets another opportunity because he has no credentials to go with the Belichick way.
16:42And that's what it really is.
16:43But am I wrong to remember that a lot of the defensive guys who have played for him, they all love playing for Flo.
16:52Yeah.
16:52It was more of the offensive guys that had a disconnect there.
16:55The defensive guys, everything I've read for the most part, loved playing for him on that side of the ball.
17:01And I would imagine, as Flores has talked about since, he's learned a lot and he's a different guy since he was the Dolphins' head coach.
17:10So you can give credit to him for that.
17:13I'm good.
17:14Okay.
17:15I'm good.
17:16I don't want to give you credit right now.
17:17I love maturation.