Steelers' Minkah Fitzpatrick Defends Nick Chubb Hit, Calls Injury 'Very Unfortunate'

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick tackled Nick Chubb low on the play that injured the Cleveland Browns star running back's knee and ended his season.

On Thursday, Fitzpatrick defended his decision amid criticisms that he should have attempted to tackle Chubb higher on his body:

He added that he had no intention to hurt Chubb:

Browns safety Grant Delpit said he didn't think Fitzpatrick had ill intent or made a dirty play.

"It's football, man, you know? I can't say what I would have done in that moment. I'm sure he didn't mean to do any harm to Nick, or anything like that," he said. "It was just a crazy football play, to be honest. Plays can go a thousand ways. Every play. You never know. It's just tough playing this sport sometimes."

He wasn't the only current or former player to stick up for Fitzpatrick:

Fitzpatrick was also injured on the play during Pittsburgh's 26-22 win over the Browns on Monday Night Football.

Fitzpatrick, 26, is a three-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro selection at safety. He was excellent in 2022, registering 96 tackles, six interceptions, a defensive touchdown and 11 passes defensed in 15 games.

Chubb's injury, meanwhile, is a huge blow for the Browns going forward. The 27-year-old is a four-time Pro Bowler who rushed for 1,525 yards and 13 total touchdowns last season, the fourth straight year he eclipsed 1,000 yards on the ground and the thrd time in his career he notched double-digit scores.

In his absence, the pair of Jerome Ford and the recently re-signed Kareem Hunt are expected to share backfield duties, with head coach Kevin Stefanski confirming to reporters on Tuesday that Ford would take over for Chubb as the feature back.