For most NFL players, home is where they hang their helmets. But for S Minkah Fitzpatrick, who the Jets acquired in an intra-division trade with Miami earlier this week, New Jersey is home and the Jets training facility is more than simply a whistle stop in his 8-year NFL career.
"It's really cool," the native of Old Bridge said during his first chat with local reporters on Thursday. "I still have a lot of friends and family back here. I've been to the Jets facility multiple times when I was younger, when I competed in the NFCT, the Nike High School camps and whatnot. So it's a lot of flashbacks being back in this building [the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park]. It's really cool to play in the stadium that I played my high school state championship in, so it's a full circle moment for sure."
That state championship game, between Fitzpatrick's St. Peter's Prep Marauders and Paramus Catholic, a 34-18 victory, was the culmination of a stellar season that took Fitzpatrick to college at Alabama. In 2018, the Dolphins made him the No. 11 overall selection in the NFL Draft. Over his professional career (with the Dolphins and the Steelers), Fitzpatrick has been among the elite safeties in the league, earning Associated Press First-Team honors three times (2019, '21 and '22) and trips to 5 Pro Bowls.
Whether he teams at safety with another Alabama alumn, second-year man Malachi Moore, or steps in as the Jets' nickel back (a position he said he played a lot last season with Miami), Fitzpatrick said he's excited to play an outsized role in HC Aaron Glenn's revamped defense.