Steelers All-Pro S Minkah Fitzpatrick off NFI list, back at practice

All things considered, the Pittsburgh Steelers are enjoying a solid first Thursday of August 2022. 

It was reported earlier in the day that the Steelers and wide receiver Diontae Johnson came to terms on a two-year, $36.71M contract extension that includes $27M guaranteed. That deal resulted in Johnson's full return to team practice sessions and ended his "hold in" that had gone on since the beginning of training camp. 

Also on Thursday, fellow Pittsburgh receiver and Georgia Bulldogs product George Pickens was mentioned as a "must-see NFL rookie" for the upcoming preseason. 

Don't look now, but the good news keeps coming for Steelers fans ahead of the weekend. 

Per Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, the Steelers activated All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick off the non-football injury list so that he could participate in Thursday's practice. Fitzpatrick originally landed on the active/non-football injury list at the start of camp after he suffered a wrist injury when he fell off a bike during a vacation. The 25-year-old began that vacation after he put pen to paper on a four-year contract extension reportedly worth over $18.4M per year with $36M guaranteed. 

Fitzpatrick had not been a full participant in summer practices and told reporters Thursday about a discussion he had with head coach Mike Tomlin earlier this week. 

"I was telling Mike the other day, 'Man, one of the things I didn’t want to do is sit out of camp because of contract reasons,'" Fitzpatrick noted while smiling. "And then I end up being hurt being held out of camp. So it’s definitely frustrating, but it is what it is." 

Tomlin said back in late July that Fitzpatrick's absence shouldn't be "significant from a long-term perspective."