Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has been released from a Pittsburgh-area hospital after undergoing scans late on Monday night after the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns, 26-22 on Monday Night Football.
Fitzpatrick left the game in the third quarter after making a tackle against Browns running back Jerome Ford. He was seen vomiting on the sideline, and walked to the locker room under his own power.
He was then taken to the hospital with what the Steelers called a chest injury. According to a report by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Fitzpatrick has been diagnosed with a chest contusion, and scans were negative for further damage.
Fitzpatrick should be able to make a relatively quick recovery from that injury, but it remains to be seen if he will be able to play during what is a short week leading up to the Steelers’ Week 3 game is Las Vegas.
When Fitzpatrick left the game, Damontae Kazee moved from strong safety to free safety and Keanu Neal played strong safety. Elijah Riley stepped up as the third man in the team’s three-safety packages, and made a critical third-down sack of Deshaun Watson on the final defensive drive.
Fitzpatrick is a three-time All-Pro and one of the least replaceable members of a Steelers defense that will already be without defensive captain and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Cam Heyward for seven more weeks.
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