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Minkah Fitzpatrick – August 26, 2019 Download PDF version

Monday, August 26, 2019

S Minkah Fitzpatrick

(On S T.J. McDonald.) – “Yeah, T.J. (McDonald) was a guy I liked a whole lot. He’s a guy that taught me a lot. Immediately from the jump, he kind of took me under his wing and just – he’s a guy with a lot of experience running a lot of different types of defense. He just is a good dude and a guy I like being around on and off the field. Like you said, this is business. I would love to have him on the field with us, but it is what it is. He’s a great player, and I wish him the best.”

(Obviously, you know everything’s got to be earned, nothing’s given. But with the departure of S T.J. McDonald, does that solidify you now as that position player do you think?) – “We’re still learning. We’re still learning what we’re going to do. It does kind of put more of one type of role on myself and other players, so we know who’s got to pick up with what he was doing and just keep it moving.”

(How ready is this defense for the start of the regular season?) – “I think we’re really ready. Obviously, we’ve got to get more prepared with Baltimore, just understanding their offense; but I think fundamentally-wise, technique-wise, conditioning-wise, we’re at a great point right now. I’m excited for this defense because it is going to be a good defense, and I think we’re pretty ready.”

(Is it fair to suggest that this defense hasn’t shown nearly all of the looks, all of the different twists?) – “I don’t think anybody has. I don’t think any team in the league has shown everything because like you said, it’s still preseason. You’ve got guys who are still learning the system. You don’t want to throw too much at them and obviously you don’t want to show your cards.”

(Did you get a chance to talk to S T.J. McDonald?) – “I did, yeah. Just briefly.”

(How’s S T.J. McDonald doing?) – “I mean, it’s tough. It’s tough. He liked it down here. We loved him down here, just as a team. So like I said, we’re just wishing him the best. We’re praying for him and his family. He’s a great player, so he’s definitely going to get picked up by somebody, and we just wish him the best.”

(What kind of goals do you have for yourself this season?) – “Just get better. I could set all these stat goals and everything else like that, but I’d just say to get better day-by-day. Just learning the game, getting smarter, playing faster, getting in better shape, getting stronger, stuff like that. Then all of that will carry over to the stat board.”

(Do you feel like a better player now than you were at this time last year?) – “Oh yeah. (laughter) Like a way, way better player. I just – I learned the game a whole lot from last year all the way to now. This staff has thrown a lot – last year’s staff threw a lot on me, and this year’s staff’s has thrown a whole lot more on me, so I’m forced to learn, I’m forced to adapt and everything else like that. With that, I grew and I’m continuing to grow every single day.”

(I guess you were well-prepared for getting a lot of stuff thrown at you from playing for Nick Saban at Alabama for their defense.) – “Yeah, his system – it’s almost identical to some of the defenses that I ran here in the league so far. So it definitely, definitely prepared me for sure.”

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