Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick released from hospital after Monday Night Football injury

The Pittsburgh Steelers took a big hit on the injury front on Monday night despite notching their first win of the season against the Cleveland Browns. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick went down and had to go to the hospital for further evaluation, but according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, there is optimism about his status this week.

“Minkah Fitzpatrick was released from the hospital Monday night after undergoing precautionary scans for what is believed to be a chest contusion, per sources,” Pelissero shared on X. “The scans were negative and there’s optimism Fitzpatrick will be fine moving forward.”

Fitzpatrick suffered the injury in the third quarter, attempting to chase down Cincinnati running back Jerome Ford. He made a last-second diving attempt but fell a bit short. Hitting the grass roughly, Fitzpatrick never made his way back onto the field.

The Fitzpatrick injury will be one to watch throughout the entire week. Just six days separate the Monday night game from Pittsburgh’s next game. If he is out long-term, it would be a huge loss.

The former first-round draft pick out of Alabama is coming off of a 2022 season where he set a career-high with six interceptions. He also posted 96 total tackles in 15 games played.

One year ago, Fitzpatrick signed the biggest deal of his career so far. He inked for four years with a total salary of $73.6 million. He is the second highest-paid safety in the league heading into 2023, behind only Derwin James.

Pittsburgh is going to be on a short week, facing off against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3. They will be heading out West for the Sunday Night Football matchup in primetime.

Nick Chubb out for season after collision with Fitzpatrick

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb had to take a cart to the locker room after suffering a knee injury in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. Reports confirmed that the RB is now out for the remainder of the 2023 season.

The injury was in the second quarter after Chubb took a handoff up the middle and suffered a direct hit to his knee from Steelers defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. The injury was so gruesome, that ABC made the decision not to show the replay. Fans at Acrisure Stadium let out a collective gasp after the replay went on the video screen.

Steelers fans in attendance chanted Chubb’s name and gave him a standing ovation as he took the cart off the field.

“One of the best players in the game is being carted off, and these fans in Pittsburgh — I mean, so classy,” play-by-play man Joe Buck said on the broadcast.

Chubb, 27, previously dislocated his left knee and tore his MCL, PCL, and LCL with cartilage damage while at Georgia in a game against Tennessee in October 2015. The knee he injured on Monday is the same one that he hurt in 2015.