{"id":137871,"date":"2025-06-17T20:45:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T20:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/137871\/"},"modified":"2025-06-17T20:45:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T20:45:10","slug":"latest-steelers-extension-could-signal-surprise-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/137871\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest Steelers Extension Could Signal Surprise Trade?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After the extension of Deshon Elliott, this could spell the end for safety <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/12\/05\/heyward-brothers-minkah-fitzpatrick-seal-deal-in-pittsburgh-steelers-week-13-win\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Minkah Fitzpatrick<\/a> in the coming seasons. It won\u2019t happen anytime soon, but when the Pittsburgh Steelers eventually going to recoup some salary cap and draft capital, they will do everything they can to do that. The Steelers aren\u2019t going to trade Fitzpatrick this season, but as each year goes by and he ages, the thought of a trade could come up at some point. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/pittsburgh-steelers\/trade-rumors-minkah-fitzpatrick-2025-offseason\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Earlier reports in the offseason suggested<\/a> that the Steelers should embrace the rebuild after a disastrous end to their 2024 campaign, losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round.<\/p>\n<p>However, that was when the Steelers had an unquestionable quarterback situation, but since they have veteran Aaron Rodgers, there\u2019s no possibility that a trade will come up. Fitzpatrick has been one of the best safeties in the league, and it\u2019s hard to imagine that both parties will consider a trade. The relationship is too strong unless the Rodgers situation leads Pittsburgh to disaster, then that might become a problem for Fitzpatrick if they continue to lose for the next two seasons, and that might boost the trade rumors as he might be looking for a Super Bowl sooner rather than later. Originally selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the former Alabama product began his career with the Miami Dolphins before a trade to the Steelers, and that\u2019s where the rest has been historic for the five-time Pro Bowler.<\/p>\n<p>For the sake of this article, here are four teams that may seek a trade for Fitzpatrick if things turn out ugly in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-201449\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USATSI_24785714_168414004_lowres-300x201.jpg\" alt=\"Baltimore Ravens Dominance\" width=\"812\" height=\"544\"  \/>Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) is tackled by Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images<br \/>\nBreaking: Latest Deshon Elliott Extension Could Signal Surprise Minkah Fitzpatrick Trade?<br \/>\nPossible Destinations<br \/>\nCarolina Panthers<\/p>\n<p>This trade would change everything for the Carolina Panthers, as they had one of the worst secondaries last season. They might have a promising offense led by quarterback Bryce Young, but that won\u2019t mean anything if the pass secondary can\u2019t make a few plays to give the Panthers several chances to win. After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/44194862\/sources-trevon-moehrig-agrees-3-year-51m-deal-panthers#:~:text=CHARLOTTE%2C%20N.C.%20%2D%2D%20The%20Carolina,re%2Dsigned%20after%20the%20season.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">signing Trevon Moehrig<\/a> and extending both <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/06\/09\/whats-next-for-the-panthers-without-jaycee-horn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Jaycee Horn<\/a> and Michael Jackson, the team has solid contributors but needs a push. Fitzpatrick landing with the Panthers would make this NFC team a scary sight in the conference.<\/p>\n<p>New Orleans Saints<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Saints have done phenomenally well upgrading the safety unit, except for its cornerback department. Fitzpatrick is not playing cornerback, but could take over the spot of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/05\/02\/tyrann-mathieu-signs-contract\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tyrann Mathieu<\/a> when he eventually retires. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.neworleanssaints.com\/photos\/justin-reid-signs-contract-new-orleans-saints-photos-2025-nfl-free-agency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Justin Reid signing with the Saints<\/a> puts him in the best spot to take the spotlight. However, why not two explosive playmakers that can destroy the opposing offenses\u2019 aerial attack?<\/p>\n<p>Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n<p>However, even though the Steelers will never trade their best veteran to Dallas, it\u2019s hard to ignore the fit he has with the Cowboys. Between Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, they need a significant upgrade. They already have a questionable cornerback department with Kaiir Elam, Shavon Revel Jr., <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/02\/28\/trevon-diggs-2020-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Trevon Diggs<\/a> and DaRon Bland. It\u2019s anyone\u2019s spot up for grabs, but Fitzpatrick would be the favorite to replace Wilson, who has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marca.com\/en\/nfl\/dallas-cowboys\/2025\/05\/27\/6835211446163f6f758b45af.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">been in trade rumors<\/a> this offseason.<\/p>\n<p>Washington Commanders<\/p>\n<p>Following a stellar rookie season led by <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/17\/jayden-daniels-commanders-quarterback-dynasty-outlook\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">quarterback Jayden Daniels<\/a>, the Commanders find themselves a Super Bowl contender for the next several years. They have a new culture, and after trading for Deebo Samuel and signing a few key offensive players, the team is solidifying its spot as one of the biggest NFC threats. The one unit that might stop them is defense, and a trade of Fitzpatrick would make sense to bolster the department and pair with Quan Martin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the extension of Deshon Elliott, this could spell the end for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the coming&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137872,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[2584,436,3455,7,13095,7583,401,6,5405,520,57,2374,2360,6211,426,11204,3428,10421],"class_list":{"0":"post-137871","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-carolina-panthers-news","9":"tag-dallas-cowboys-news","10":"tag-deshon-elliott","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-justin-reid","13":"tag-minkah-fitzpatrick","14":"tag-new-orleans-saints-news","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-panthers-featured","17":"tag-pittsburgh","18":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","19":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers-news","20":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","21":"tag-saints-featured","22":"tag-steelers","23":"tag-trevon-moehrig","24":"tag-trevon-diggs","25":"tag-washington-commanders-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114700663403052322","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}