Despite the NBA’s free agency period starting off with a whirlwind of activity, it appears as if the NFL still managed to dominate the trade-related headlines for June 30th. The Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to a trade that will see both the star DB, Jalen Ramsey, and breakout tight end, Jonnu Smith, travel to Pittsburgh in exchange for the Steelers’ three-time All-Pro safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick.
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The move is just the latest in what has been a surprisingly active offseason for Pittsburgh. Thanks to the uncharacteristic level of activity, the Steelers are heading into the 2025 regular season with a completely revamped offense, causing ProFootballTalk’s founder, Mike Florio, to ponder “What the hell happened to the Steelers?”
“They’ve undergone some sort of organic personality change this year… Who is this team wearing black and gold? They are acting like they have never acted before, and I mean never… I know how the Steelers operate. They don’t operate the way they operated this year. They don’t do that.”
Ever since the decline of Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers have been hard-pressed for any kind of playoff success. Nearly a decade has passed since the team won its last postseason contest in 2016.
According to Florio, that drought has created a sense of desperation that Pittsburgh has never exhibited before, and it’s now resulting in hasty decision-making.
“They don’t pay market value to a stranger to the organization like they did to D.K. Metcalf. They don’t wait… and wait some more for an aging quarterback to come and save the day. They don’t make a trade for Jalen Ramsey, who’s been passed around the NFL… It’s a short-term thing. They don’t want to keep [Ramsey] around for five years, they want to get the most out of him this year… This is a team that is desperate to win a playoff game.”
In light of the Steelers seemingly going all in on the 2025 season, Florio suggests that there’s truly only one question left to answer: “When the hail mary pass isn’t caught, what’s your plan?”
As far as the Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins are concerned, Florio surmised that their reunion serves as an indicator that Miami fancies its chances for the upcoming season. In short, Fitzpatrick originally fought to get away from a tanking Dolphins team back in 2019, just to retroactively find his way back six years later.
While they may be improved by his return, Florio doesn’t believe that the Dolphins are any closer to title contention than they were yesterday.
“There was a period of time where the Dolphins were deliberately trying not to be competitive, and Minkah wasn’t down with that. He came from Alabama, where all you do is win. He wanted out; he got out. He spent some time in Pittsburgh and now he’s back in Miami… But they are at least trying to win. They are not good enough, but they are at least trying.”
Considering Minkah’s age and veteran status, the trade certainly helps to bolster Miami’s secondary for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, only time will tell whether or not his presence will help to contain the likes of Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs.
