Born in Old Bridge, NJ, S [Minkah Fitzpatrick](/team/players-roster/minkah-fitzpatrick/) may have never envisioned playing professional football for a team that trains in his home state.
That wasn't, however, because he didn't dream of one day playing in the NFL. It was simply because the 29-year-old has prided himself on living in the moment and maximizing each opportunity as it presents itself.
"I feel like just naturally … I like to be where my feet are," Fitzpatrick said after arriving at 1 Jets Drive. "When I was in high school, thinking about the next step -- I wanted to get to college and play at a high level in college. Then when I got to college, I wanted to play at a high level in the league. So, when I was here \[New Jersey\], I was just worried about being here. I never worried about if it was actually a possibility to make the next step. I never thought about wearing the green and white."
As luck would have it, though, Fitzpatrick is now fewer than 50 miles from his hometown. The Jets acquired the nine-year veteran in a trade with the Miami Dolphins, made official on March 11.
Fitzpatrick's football career -- which now brings him back to his home state -- has taken him all over the map. After playing high school football at Saint Peter's Prep in Jersey City, he played three collegiate seasons at Alabama and was then selected No. 11 overall by the Dolphins in 2018. In 2019, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers and remained with the team until he was traded back to the Dolphins in 2024.
For someone now set to take the field with his third team in three seasons, living in the moment has been a critical part of achieving success.
"It's an unfortunate part of the business that we do, having to move cities and whatnot," Fitzpatrick said. "I have a young son and a young family. But at the end of the day, I think what we do and the things that we sacrifice are worth it. It makes this work even harder. I don't want to move my son to three different cities in three years to not produce a good result."