Minkah Fitzpatrick agrees with mom, that he’s miscast

[The Dolphin]

Getty Images

Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was busy practicing Wednesday, but his mom had his back. And he thinks she has a point.

While the Dolphins were on the field this morning, Fitzpatrick’s mother Melissa responded to a tweet from Dolphins beat writer Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel suggesting that her son was struggling.

No you would never want to do that maybe it’s because he is not a ss and is being used to suit other people skill set not his own . But you know let’s just keep ripping him because we know it breaks your heart to do that

— minknmelissa (@minknmelissa) August 14, 2019

After practice, the versatile defensive back (who plays corner, safety, even linebacker at times) admitted that being an in-the-box safety might not exactly suit him.

“It is what it is,” Minkah Fitzpatrick said, via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “She’s being honest and saying how she feels. There’s nothing wrong with it. I wish she would have addressed me first and talked to me first before it happens, but it is what it is. She feels very strongly.

“She’s not wrong. Coach has asked me do something right now. I got to do what they ask me to do. If we have to have some discussions in the future, we’ll have those discussions.”

The Dolphins are running short at the moment, with with Reshad Jones, T.J. McDonald and Walt Aikens all injured. So Bobby McCain‘s been working at free safety, forcing Fitzpatrick into an unnatural position for a 207-pound player.

Health for other players will likely solve this problem, and the 2018 first-rounder acknowledged this was probably a temporary assignment.

“They don’t expect to win every single snap against a 320-pound tackle,” he said. “They just want me to do my job. They’re not going to put me in situations where I have to do that every single play. They know where my strengths are. . . .

“You just got to do it, man. If you resist it, you’re not going to play well. If you think about playing somewhere else, you’re not going to make the most of your position. I’m not 215 pounds, 220 pounds. So playing in the box isn’t best suited for me, but that’s coach is asking me to do. I’m going to go out there and practice my hardest.”

He deserves credit for being honest about the situation, and you can forgive his mother, for doing what a parent is there to do.