Minkah Fitzpatrick and Adonai Mitchell from Jets camp, open up like never before: Minkah on what went wrong in Pittsburgh, why he left Miami, regrets and AD on overcoming adversity and fresh start under Aaron Glenn's leadership .

"It's a new beginning for us." Minkah Fitzpatrick and Adonai Mitchell As the Pivot Training Camp tour continues, we hit the Big Apple, where we sit down with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Adonai Mitchell to preview the season ahead with the NY Jets, and reflect on the hard roads that brought them to this moment. Two players. Two very different journeys. One shared mindset: keep going, keep growing, and embrace the opportunity in front of you. From adversity and setbacks to finding their way to New York, Minkah and Adonai open up about the moments that tested them, shaped them, and ultimately helped define who they are today. Now, with training camp underway, the focus shifts to what comes next: earning it, building something together, and making an impact when it matters most. For Minkah, Nine years. Three stops. One journey that brings him back home. His transparency is on full display as he talks growing up in New Jersey to going to Miami as a first round pick to becoming a cornerstone of Steelers defense in 2019 and building a nine-year career defined by adversity, evolution, and excellence, Minkah has seen it all. Now, he returns to familiar territory to begin a new chapter with the Jets — and perhaps the most meaningful one yet. His respect for Coach Aaron Glenn and leading the young roster which is Minkah's focus. Adonai Mitchell brings the Jets a big, athletic X receiver with downfield speed and the ability to win one-on-one matchups. His time in Indianapolis ended after a costly focus mistake, fumbling at the goal line on what would have been a 75-yard touchdown against the Rams...but he responded well after the trade, showing flashes of the talent that made him a second-round pick. In New York, Mitchell gives the offense another explosive weapon opposite Garrett Wilson, and confidence in Geno Smith to be able to turn those flashes into consistent production. This isn't just a training camp stop talking preseason... It’s a conversation about resilience, purpose, pressure, and the power of a pivot. The journey brought them to this point, and now, it’s time to see where it takes them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer. It's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  The pivot is at New York Jets training camp and there's a new energy surrounding this team. A new feel, a new hope. And two players could play a major role in what the Jets hope is a resurgence. Adonai Mitchell and Minka Fitzpatrick join us for a convo that goes far beyond football. Mitchell opens up about the trade that brought him to New York. The why behind his journey and the beautiful daughter who continues to give him purpose. He gets candid about the fumble that shook Indianapolis. What that moment taught him and why he's choosing to dedicate himself fully to this new beginning with the Jets. Then there's Minka Fitzpatrick, an all-pro, a pro bowler, and one of the game's most respected defensive leaders.

• 1:11Ryan Clark?

  So why has a player of this caliber been traded so many times? For the first time, Minkah opens up about each stop in his career and what those trades really meant to him. He shares what he learned at every destination, how those experiences shaped him as a leader, and also the regrets that he carries. And how each chapter ultimately prepared him for the next one. And now he's back home, back in Jersey, wearing Jets green. I mean, these are two different journeys, two different stories, but arriving at the same place with something to prove, something to build, and a new beginning ahead. The Jets have a new feel, and like I said, a new hope. And Adonai Mitchell and Minkah Fitzpatrick could be at the center of it.

• 1:53Ryan Clark?

  So now, please welcome Adonai and Minkah as they join me, Chan, and Freddie T on the Pivot Training Camp Tour. Man, Adonai Mitchell, man, welcome to the show, bruh.

• 2:23Speaker 02

  Appreciate it.

• 2:24Ryan Clark?

  We had this conversation a year ago.

• 2:25Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 2:26Ryan Clark?

  You know, you say, hey, man, I'm gonna be on there one day. And watching you transition from Indy to New York last year, so put it in my head. A guy that could get through adversity, understand perseverance. This is Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, and Ryan Clark. Pivot fam, thank y'all for pivoting with us. Man, I want to go to something that may be a little bit away from New York Jets right now. I read your Players Tribune when you put it out. And it talked about your transition from Georgia to Texas and how much your daughter played a part in that. How much still, man, does your love for her push you forward to keep achieving?

• 3:04Speaker 02

  I mean, bruh, wake me up in the morning, man. And wake me up, it carries with me through everything I do, through meetings, through extra work, through preparation, everything. And, um, you know, now she's five, you know, but when I wrote it, I think she was about two years old or going on two. So, um, just to, really just to see her growing, I just want to, I just want to be the man that my father was for me. You know, I grew up two-parent household, both amazing parents, and, you know, I just want to be able to give that experience to her.

• 3:38Channing Crowder?

  Tell my, like, growing, growing as a father and also growing as a player.

• 3:43Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 3:44Channing Crowder?

  But, oh, she brought it up. You go from, what, Indy eight and then New York eight? How was that transition? Because I never got traded mid-season, hell. They ain't really want me, so I couldn't be a part of no trade. But how, how, how was that coming to a brand-new team on Tuesday?

• 3:59Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 4:00Channing Crowder?

  And knowing the game coming up on Sunday?

• 4:01Speaker 02

  Man, it was, I mean, it definitely was a different experience, bro. Like, you know, uh, like you said, Tuesday, I woke up with coke and I went to sleep with New York Jet. You know, just at that point, it's, you know, it ain't no training camp, ain't no OTAs, ain't no, hey, you know, we gonna, we gonna let you learn this, this, it's pick it up and go as fast as you can. You know, the, the team and the staff did a great job of really supporting me through that. But, nah, it was, it was definitely different, you know, just, just a different experience, man.

• 4:32Fred Taylor?

  That's a bit different experience. At least in Indy, you can sleep a little bit. New York City never sleep.

• 4:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 4:37Fred Taylor?

  Media is crazy, expectations always high. Do those expectations motivate you or?

• 4:43Speaker 02

  I mean, they just there, to be honest. Like, if, if I don't have expectations for myself, then I ain't no man, you know what I mean? So, like, I mean, everybody, everybody gonna have outside expectations, but that doesn't really dictate my expectations for myself. Because my expectation way higher than than somebody who don't even know me. You know, like, they not, they not with me on them, on them late nights, early mornings, you know? So my expectation is, that's what drive me.

• 5:08Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 5:09Speaker 02

  For sure.

• 5:10Ryan Clark?

  Talking to some people around here today about you, we were excited to have you on the show. And they talked about the extra work you put in. And they said from the day you got here, you were putting in that extra work. So you could tell that's been a part of your regimen. I want to go back to, I think it was week four last year, Los Angeles Rams, you on the 24-yard line, catch the pass from Daniel Jones, you're going into the end zone, you drop the ball before the goal line. I watched you on the sideline, man, and I could feel

• 5:40Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 5:41Ryan Clark?

  what you were feeling. Take us back to that moment and your thoughts as you're sitting on the sideline, realizing what happened on that replay.

• 5:50Speaker 02

  We going back. All right, so, uh, I mean, you know, just, it was no secret that, like, I wasn't really, I wasn't really playing in Indy that much. Like, I was receiver four, I would come in, spot in, third down. You know, my first rep would be, you know, like, we kind of coming to you, we need you. And so, you know, this was my first real opportunity to, to start playing a, a full game. And I remember going to sleep that night in the hotel and I'm like, man, like, I know at some point, they gonna need me. Like, at some point, this, this shit gonna come to me and at some point, I'm gonna change the game. We get to the game and, you know, I, I, I recognize that the ball's coming to me before the ball snaps. So I'm already on 10.

• 6:33Speaker 02

  And, you know, I pretty much, you know, as I'm, as I'm getting to the goal line, I, I say I got caught up in the emotion of it and the, and the, and the thrill of, you know, finally. Like, this is, this is what I've been waiting for. You know, I, I had my opportunity, I seen the shit coming before it came, and I made it, made the most of it. Like, you, nobody draws up a 75-yard play. Just when it happened, man, it was, it was very humbling. It was, it was very humbling and, you know, it's, it's, it just taught me the little things, the, the little details of the game, like the, the shit that we preach every day. Uh, ODB, our damn ball, hold the ball, everything.

• 7:14Speaker 02

  But, um, so it's, it was, it was something that I had to, you know, I had to take that shit on the chin. Like, I couldn't, I couldn't look to the man on my left or my right and be like, man, it's your fault. Like, I, I had to look in the mirror and, you know, I knew it was my fault from the jump. Like, they, I ain't even have to see the replay, I just started jogging off the field. I'm like, damn, you know, this is, I, I pretty much know what's gonna come from this now.

• 7:36Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 7:37Speaker 02

  So, uh, but I feel like it, I feel like it helped me grow. Like, it, it definitely helped me grow. You know, the, the following weeks, it was like, you know, I was, I mean, I was in the doghouse, you know? And, um, you know, I, I was pretty much, you know, me, a couple of my teammates, couple of the receivers, uh, Coach Reg, like, I leaned on them a lot, but, you know, at the end of the day, when I left that facility, it was just me. It was, like, I had to go home to an empty house and really, really live, live through that shit over and over and over. And, you know, I just vowed I, I'd never put myself through nothing like that again because I know what I can do. And, you know, the potential was there on the play before, you know, everything went to shit, but

• 8:20Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 8:21Speaker 02

  You know, so it's, it's, I had to keep myself alive through that moment because, you know, going in and out the building, ain't nobody, ain't nobody really keeping me alive. Ain't nobody saying like, yeah, you know, ain't nobody really speaking that much life into me. Like, I gotta do all that shit myself.

• 8:36Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 8:37Speaker 02

  And so, you know, it was just, it was just what it was, though, you know? I didn't feel bitter about it. It was, you know, it was my mistake that I had to grow from.

• 8:44Channing Crowder?

  He looking, talking about looking at your left and your right, somebody came and tightened you up. We no dub.

• 8:50Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 8:51Channing Crowder?

  We no dub wasn't gonna let you just run with that. Reggie had to say something to you.

• 8:53Speaker 02

  No, no, no, yeah, yeah, I said I leaned on, leaned on Reg, leaned on the receivers. And like, and like, nobody spoke down on me. But it's like, you know, like, I'm not really involved in the game plan, I'm, I'm, I'm doing scout team reps, I'm, I'm in the scout team meetings, like it, you go from one part of the, of, you know, being involved in the offense, you know, people talking to you every day and, you know what I'm saying? Then you go to the doghouse, it's a doghouse. Like, you know, ain't nobody trying to be in there with you. It's just, you know, like, nobody was speaking down, but nah, I lean on Reg every day. I was always in his office.

• 9:29Ryan Clark?

  Hey, Chan, they tell you without telling you, though. Yeah. Yeah, when you get to that, when you get to work that day and you know what meeting you go to, they ain't gotta speak down to you. You already know where things are trending.

• 9:40Fred Taylor?

  I want to ask this question because we've heard some rumors or whatever. You went to two national championships at Georgia.

• 9:46Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:47Fred Taylor?

  You leave there and you go to Texas.

• 9:49Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:49Fred Taylor?

  What it took for Texas to get you there? We heard they got a bag.

• 9:52Speaker 02

  You heard that?

• 9:53Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 9:54Speaker 02

  Man, you know, a lot of people say a lot of things. Things just be going in and out. But, you know, the main thing, like my daughter RC said, man, my daughter was out there. Uh, but, I mean, in my mind, it was just a, it was just a great all-around opportunity. You know what I'm saying? Of course, of course, we gonna benefit from NIL. I mean, if it's out there, you gotta get it.

• 10:12Ryan Clark?

  You gotta get it.

• 10:12Speaker 02

  And, you know, I, of course, use that to help with my daughter. And it was, uh, like, it was just the best all-around opportunity. And really, at the time, you know, people didn't really see it at the time. But I'm like, bro, like, we could, we could go out there with a natty. And we should have, but, you know, I ain't gonna speak on that.

• 10:30Fred Taylor?

  What are some of the similarities you saw in Sark and Kirby Smart that you can probably look at in what you learned in college and what you have here in Coach Aaron Glenn?

• 10:39Speaker 02

  I compare Coach Glenn to Coach Kirby, to be honest. Just, just two defensive head coaches. Uh, you know, they, they, they run the show. You know, Coach Sark, you know, he's an offensive mind, quarterback. You know, they, they a little more, you know, a little more laid back. Like, they like, man, we got this. Like, we, we, we play with finesse. Kirby and Glenn trying to hit you in the mouth, you know? And that's the, that's the, that's the mindset that our defense got. Like, every day, we trying to come at you. Like, we ain't, we don't, we don't want to run around you, we want to run through you. So, but Coach AG is just a, he's just a great motivator, dawg. Like, you know, he doesn't really come in our meetings and, and coach the offense.

• 11:21Speaker 02

  But, you know, anytime he, anytime he gets a chance to check us out or, you know, just give us tips or anything, like, he always speaking to us and, you know, it's, it's, it's fun. We love competing with those type of coaches, man. Especially, you know, soon as we get out there, like, we talking shit. You know, it's, it's competition.

• 11:39Ryan Clark?

  You know, you come in last year, you didn't really get an opportunity with the full group. G was hurt. And what I admired, because obviously I was at all those games down the stretch, was the way you continued to work, the energy that you played with, right? You could see that. It didn't matter what the scoreboard said, it didn't matter what the record was, you were gonna show people that you belong. And I love that because you showed it through effort. But now this offseason, man, with Gino, Garrett's back and he's healthy, right? Y'all go draft Cooper, you got Siddiq, man, you got Taylor. Like, there's all this skill players on offense alone with Breeze. How excited are you to show what this offense can do this year at full capacity?

• 12:19Speaker 02

  Words can't even describe it, brother. Like, the, just the, like you said, the talent that we got, the new guys, the, especially, you know, starting with the quarterback, Gino, you know, we got a, we got a natural leader, you know? And that's, that's, that's what you want as a receiver. Somebody that's, somebody that's behind the center that you trust, that trusts you. And, you know, the, the preparation that we put into it, everybody locked in in the meetings, taking notes, like, we all care about this shit. You could feel it, you could see it, it show up on tape every time. So, all we gotta do is just continue to stack days. It's all about consistency. We ain't, we ain't but week two of, of training camp. So, as long as we could just keep building every day, dawg, shit could look good.

• 13:05Channing Crowder?

  First thing, you, you play with, you play with a number of quarterbacks.

• 13:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:08Channing Crowder?

  But G just came up here before Garrett.

• 13:10Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:10Channing Crowder?

  He said, well, Gino can spin that thing.

• 13:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure.

• 13:13Channing Crowder?

  Gino can spin that thing like that?

• 13:15Speaker 02

  For sure. Most definitely.

• 13:16Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 13:17Speaker 02

  Most definitely. You want to watch?

• 13:19Channing Crowder?

  What's that? Yeah, I'm just, but for, for him to say the first thing that come up to us was like, yeah, man, how's it going? Boy, Gino can spin that thing.

• 13:25Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:25Channing Crowder?

  We saw the success he had in his life, but you, you seen the difference? What was it, Daniel Jones?

• 13:29Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:30Channing Crowder?

  What'd you play with?

• 13:30Ryan Clark?

  Justin Fields. Nah, he coming, Justin was here last year. Last year, he got toward the end.

• 13:34Speaker 02

  Jay Field, Tyrod. I played with Jay Field the first game.

• 13:37Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 13:37Speaker 02

  We had Tyrod for two, my dog Brady Cook to finish it off, and Anthony Richardson.

• 13:44Channing Crowder?

  Anthony Rich, yeah. Who was out there? But he was, but there, Gino spin that thing.

• 13:47Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah.

• 13:48Channing Crowder?

  Oh, for sure.

• 13:49Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah. Shit beautiful.

• 13:53Speaker 02

  So.

• 13:54Ryan Clark?

  You mentioned the leadership piece of it.

• 13:56Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:56Ryan Clark?

  For you, having to, you feel extremely mature, right? Obviously, the decision you had to make in college.

• 14:03Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 14:04Ryan Clark?

  It's, it's part of that for your, for your child. But also some of the adversity that you faced growing up. You know, type one diabetic, right? There's all these things you've gone through. How has your journey helped you be a part of what could be leadership here for the New York Jets?

• 14:23Speaker 02

  It just wasn't easy. You know, just the whole journey, it was always, it was always ups and downs, ups and downs, and that's just how life is. You know, it's, it's, to me, it's all about bouncing back. Like, especially when I was in the, when I was in the doghouse, I'm like, man, eventually I'm gonna get out of here. And when I do, if I'm blessed to, you know, I'mma, I'mma make the most of the opportunity. And, you know, it's, it, it also comes back to accountability. Like, you just have to, you have to be accountable for, for everything you do. Every, every word you say gonna, gonna come back to you. Every action you put out there gonna come back to you. Like, and especially you go out there on that field, the only thing you got is your tape. Your words can't talk for you, nothing else can talk for you but that tape.

• 15:05Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 15:05Speaker 02

  So, but, you know, I mean, right now, it's just, if I could lead myself, then, then, you know, maybe people could follow. But ain't nobody gonna follow a man that can't lead itself.

• 15:17Fred Taylor?

  Right. Talk about football IQ, though, because a lot of fans, they, they notice the big plays and the catches.

• 15:22Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:23Fred Taylor?

  But they don't know the one part about receivers that actually make them special.

• 15:26Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:27Fred Taylor?

  What, what makes you special?

• 15:29Speaker 02

  The work I put in, you know? And then, you know, we, we get out there, I'm, I'm just different, bro. Like, I don't, I don't even know how to describe it, bro, but like, I, I don't run from one-on-one opportunities. Like, I, I love them, I feel like I thrive in them. I don't know, like, it's, it's, it's like guarding something, something that's unguardable. Stopping an unstoppable force, moving an immovable object. You can't guard somebody that ain't guardable. So, uh, yeah, I mean, that's, that's, I feel like that's my, that's my biggest strength.

• 15:59Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I heard since, uh, Mika Fitzpatrick got here, you've been killing him every practice.

• 16:03Speaker 02

  Ah, every day. Light skins. We go at light skins, man.

• 16:09Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, they saying every day now.

• 16:11Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, I let him know.

• 16:15Ryan Clark?

  But, man, just before you, before you get out, man, talk about what that, the good pieces of the trade. I think people always look at a trade and say to themselves, you know, it feels like people gave up on somebody or they weren't wanted in another place. Sometimes it can be a new beginning.

• 16:34Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 16:35Ryan Clark?

  For you, how did you view the opportunity to start to rewrite your story coming here to New York?

• 16:41Speaker 02

  Exactly that, a new beginning. I'm like, man, everything in the past is, it's in the past. I can't, I can't go back and change it. Shit done already happened. But what I can change is how people view me here. You know, I, I didn't know how people viewed me. I ain't really care. Because at the end of the day, I gotta go out there and prove my worth and prove who I was. So, um, just every day, just waking up with a, with a growth mentality and just saying, how could I get better in any phase? But, yeah, I just looked at it as a new beginning, time to get it on.

• 17:13Channing Crowder?

  I was gonna ask, to that point, like I said, I've never been traded, but you've been traded a 17 times.

• 17:21Fred Taylor?

  This man way on camera and everything. Come on, bro. Why you doing a guest like that?

• 17:26Channing Crowder?

  I'm saying, but if you think about it.

• 17:30Channing Crowder?

  But if you think about it, like, you know, the Indy gave up on you, like you saying, didn't want you. But when they, when they're talking about the draft, the pick, the Jets is like, oh, we need, we need him.

• 17:40Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 17:40Channing Crowder?

  So, do you look at it from the positive side of the trade? Or is, did the negative always pop up?

• 17:45Speaker 02

  I mean, initially, like, I didn't, I ain't know what to think. You know, I, I, you know, I was in the, I was in the quarterback room watching film when I, when I got that, when I got that call from the Grim Reaper. So, shit, I, I, I ain't know what to think, but, you know, my, my, my circle, man, my, my parents, my family, like, everybody just, everybody spoke life into it. And it's like, man, don't, don't, don't look at it this way, look at it this way, you know? So, you know, if I, if I just went negative, then it wouldn't have did no good.

• 18:18Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 18:18Speaker 02

  You know? It wouldn't have did nothing.

• 18:20Fred Taylor?

  Hey, you know, AD, we, um, you're not too far removed from your rookie year. And, and we are in training camp, and we usually, this time of the year, we have rookie shows. What'd you do for your rookie show?

• 18:31Speaker 02

  Oh, bro. Oh, dawg. I had performed, you know that song, Close the Door, Bet the Floor?

• 18:40Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 18:40Speaker 02

  Yeah. So, uh, bro, I, I'll never forget, I walk up there, I grab a mic, I sing like three lines, right? And, you know, I got, I got, I got the two vet linebackers, Zaire Franklin and, uh, EJ Speed, they, they sitting right there in the middle. So, they start vibing, they start singing along. Soon as they did that shit, mine went blank. I said, damn. So, yeah, they, they booed me off. Yeah, they.

• 19:11Ryan Clark?

  For your story, your perseverance, man, all the things that you've been able to do, I just wanted to get just a little bit of time to speak with you, man, and definitely speak life into you, but allow you to speak life into the people that watch this show, man. So, best of luck this year, bro.

• 19:23Speaker 02

  Appreciate it.

• 19:24Ryan Clark?

  Man, thank you, family.

• 19:26Channing Crowder?

  The girl dance, man.

• 19:33Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 20:02Ryan Clark?

  All right, I've been trying to do this, shoot, I don't know, since you got out of college. You know, you text him, he always hit you with the, "Oh, see, maybe, maybe we'll get it done." Hey, it just tells you about persistence. Uh, Minka Fitzpatrick, man, one of the best to do it. Welcome to the pivot. Chan again, Fred, I'm RC. Minka, man, um, I've always been fascinated with your game, but more than anything, your love for the sport, the way you approached it. Your high school coach said y'all would take, I guess, drives after school, and you'd watch film in the car. That is not a high school mindset. How did you know so young that it was gonna be the little things that propelled you to get you to where you wanted to go?

• 20:47Speaker 05

  To be honest, I think just watching, watching the way my family worked. You know, I watched my dad work two jobs. I watched my mom work three jobs so that I could go to that high school that I went to. It was a private school up in Jersey City. And I think, you know, watching them do what they do, uh, you know, I'm a big believer in honoring your mother and your father. Watching what they were doing to provide for me, I knew that, uh, I wanted to replicate what they were doing. You know what I'm saying? And I knew that, uh, a way to honor them would be to give my all in what I'm doing. And what I was doing was going to school and playing football. And then, you know, eventually I realized, hey,

• 21:32Speaker 05

  I could make some money playing this game, you know what I'm saying? So I did, after realizing that, and I just wanted to, you know, honor the people that were providing for me. And, you know, even my, my coach, you know, he took me in while we, uh, while we, uh, were struggling for a little bit. And I just wanted to honor those people. And I think just watching the way that they did life and the way that they operated in, in their spheres kind of poured over into my football life.

• 21:57Channing Crowder?

  Do you know, um, your perception is chromagenous?

• 22:01Speaker 05

  Chromagenous.

• 22:03Channing Crowder?

  Like, not, I'm not saying a mean person.

• 22:06Ryan Clark?

  Not a fun person.

• 22:07Channing Crowder?

  Not a fun person.

• 22:08Speaker 05

  That's what chromagenous is?

• 22:09Channing Crowder?

  Look, little chromagenous, just like, I'm, I'm, "Ah, what are you doing? I don't care what you're doing."

• 22:17Speaker 05

  No, I know that.

• 22:18Channing Crowder?

  You know that? Do you accept that? Because people like, we were in Miami, I live in Miami. Covered you in Miami. Then you go to Pittsburgh with Mike T., we come to Pittsburgh. And you just don't really seem happy too much.

• 22:32Speaker 05

  Nah, I'm a very happy, happy person. I'm a very joyful person. But I'm, I'm a, uh, I'm not a fun person, like you said. I'm not afraid to admit that, you know what I'm saying? I have my, my people that I love and take care of and do life with. I think they see a little bit different side of me, of course. But for the most part, I think, um, I'm more just right there, you know what I'm saying? And I accept it, you know what I'm saying? I'm never gonna claim to be a comedian or a fun guy. Like, I try to provide fun and happiness for the people around me, but I'm cool.

• 23:06Ryan Clark?

  And Minkah, one of them, as long as y'all having a good time, I'm having a good time.

• 23:13Channing Crowder?

  Do you, cause I was joked earlier about it, with you, you being on 33 teams and it's only 32 in the league. Do you, do you think your personality affects, affects your career in any way?

• 23:25Speaker 05

  I, I, so what's, what we're saying, you know, I have that, that, uh, like, laid-back demeanor. I think I am confrontational, you know what I'm saying? Like, when I need to have necessary or, or tough conversations, uh, I'll have them. Uh, and I think because my demeanor is, like you said, very like this way, I think people could take it the wrong way. You know what I'm saying? If that affected my career or not, I'm, I'm not sure. You know what I'm saying? Uh, I think both, most of the times I've been traded, uh, you know, when we talk about 2019, Miami was doing what they were doing. I don't think that was, you know, a personality thing. And then this previous time, or with Pittsburgh,

• 24:09Speaker 05

  I, I, I still don't understand what went down with that. But I don't think my, my personality affected it that much.

• 24:16Ryan Clark?

  I know nothing about being confrontational. I would like to talk to you about what that's like, Minkah. I would love to know what it's like to be willing to have tough conversations with people. Cause I've just never been there, Chan.

• 24:27Speaker 05

  You do that for a living, my man.

• 24:29Channing Crowder?

  If y'all played together, y'all would've locked up.

• 24:30Ryan Clark?

  And we'd have played together. We'd have got along, we'd have got along greatly.

• 24:35Speaker 05

  Cause we, nah, we would've fought and then we would've got along together.

• 24:38Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, cause both of us like to work. You know what I'm saying? Both of us love to game. You know what I'm saying? You throw hands one time, you hug, you good to go.

• 24:44Speaker 05

  Straight.

• 24:44Fred Taylor?

  I'm glad y'all can acknowledge that. There be men about it. But you grew up here.

• 24:49Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 24:50Fred Taylor?

  All right, to, to go from Miami to Pittsburgh, back to Miami, and then back home. This chapter, like, how does it feel different at this, this point in your life?

• 24:59Speaker 05

  I, I wouldn't say it feels any, any different.

• 25:01Fred Taylor?

  Okay.

• 25:01Speaker 05

  But, uh, you know, I am, I'm in year nine. Uh, I've had, you know, uh, great moments, bad moments. Uh, but coming here, you know, this, this late in my career, coming back home, um, you know, I think God works in mysterious ways. You know what I'm saying? Bring me back home, bring me back close to, uh, family, friends. You know what I'm saying? I'm playing, uh, my home games in the stadium that I played my high school state championship games in, you know what I'm saying? So, you know, I think it's a full circle moment. It's really cool, uh, you know, knowing that most of my uncles, aunties, they were Jets fans, and I know how they feel about the, the Jets program. Like, they love it, but, you know, they're not happy that we've been winning.

• 25:44Speaker 05

  So, uh, being able to be a part of bringing us back on, on this trajectory, uh, I think it'll be, you know, really fun, not just for me, but also the, the people around me, you know what I'm saying?

• 25:56Ryan Clark?

  Which is, which is what's important. Uh, DT, Deontay Thompson, man, he, whenever he talks about you, he, you know, basically just calls you Nick's son, right? Uh, and you read, you read that in different pieces. And, you know, one thing Nick likes to talk about, Coach Saban, is high achievers, also playful, right? And I understood what it was like to learn from him and take pieces of what, how he approached work. Also understood what it was like to love winning. You won in high school, you won in college. That's escaped you at different points of your NFL career. How difficult has that part of your career been to deal with for you when you do put so much work in individually so the team can excel too?

• 26:40Speaker 05

  Uh, I mean, it's frustrating. Uh, but it's not to say that I, I couldn't have done things better. You know what I'm saying? I think even in the seasons in Pittsburgh where we struggled, I could've done things better. Uh, last year in Miami, there's things I could've done better. You know what I'm saying? I could've, uh, been a better teammate, could've been more bought into, to, to what we had going on. So, you know, there's never a moment where I'm gonna look at losing and do this. You know what I'm saying? Obviously, I'm not gonna affect the outcome of every single game. Uh, I'm always gonna look at losing and see what I, what I could've done better, uh, what I could do better. And, you know, I think just as, I mean, professionals, I think that's how we're supposed to, to carry ourselves. You know what I'm saying? And losing is frustrating.

• 27:25Speaker 05

  Uh, knowing that other people aren't bought in in the same way is frustrating. Knowing that not every scheme is 100% fit for how you play is frustrating. But at the end of the day, I sort of, I still gotta go out there and give 110%. And if I don't do that, people aren't gonna point at the scheme or point at the coach, they gonna point at Minkah Fitzpatrick. You know what I'm saying? So, um, I think that's just a lesson I've learned over the years. Um, and I, I think, yeah, yeah, that's how I answer that.

• 27:55Ryan Clark?

  You know, I'm like Chan asked his question. I think it takes a lot of self-awareness to, to realize that. Uh, I'd also wonder... How much, when somebody's not bought in, or when a scheme isn't great, how do you deal with those things in a sense of, is this the time I say something? Or do I hold back?

• 28:18Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 28:19Ryan Clark?

  Because it was something I dealt with as I played as well. Do you feel the way that you've, do you regret in any way, how you've handled some of those situations?

• 28:28Speaker 05

  Yeah, I would say in Pittsburgh, I definitely regret the way I handled the situation. You know, when I first got there, they just kind of plugged me in at the post safety, half safety, and I played well there.

• 28:41Ryan Clark?

  Played really well.

• 28:42Speaker 05

  After a while, you know, quarterbacks aren't going to be throwing you the ball a whole lot, or throwing the, you know, post and to your half and stuff like that. And I kind of got pushed into that role. And people forgot that what I was known for was my versatility and doing different things. You know, I think I'm a good football player, so no matter where you put me on the field, I'm going to be a good football player. But I think where my capabilities are maximized is when I could do different things. You know what I'm saying? Whether it be in the post, then the next play in the half, next play rushing off the edge, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, doing different things. And I think they got so used to me being in that role

• 29:24Speaker 05

  that, and doing a good job of it, that they didn't, I don't know, they didn't remember, or they didn't really care to move me around, but I just got stuck in that role. And you know, after a while, my splash in production went down. I was still playing good football, but it wasn't splashy football. And I just got stuck in a role that wasn't splashy, wasn't making a whole lot of plays. I was having to make tackles down the field after a busted run and stuff like that. And it's like, good job, but you know, we paying you.

• 29:59Ryan Clark?

  Twenty yard game.

• 30:00Speaker 05

  Yeah, we paying you eighteen million. It's like, we want to see splash. And I don't think, I think I could have approached the defensive staff and said, hey, if you want to maximize my splash plays and my ability to affect the game, you got to, you know, move me around and do different things. But I kind of just bit the bullet. And you know, they brought other guys in that couldn't move around and do different things. And I bit the bullet. And so I think that would have affected my career for sure, yeah.

• 30:30Channing Crowder?

  Like you said, you want to have uncomfortable conversations. Because that's the story too. Down in Miami was that you was like, man, y'all ain't using me right. Then you go to another city, man, y'all ain't using me right. Is it uncomfortable to have that uncomfortable conversation with a dude that's getting paid to put a scheme together? Be like, bro, let me jump in the slot, let me. Is this true about Miami? And shouldn't that conversation be had?

• 30:51Speaker 05

  I don't think Miami, you said Miami was the first time?

• 30:54Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, first time.

• 30:54Speaker 05

  No, no, no, that wasn't the case. I seen what they was doing with the season. And that's why I wanted out. You know what I'm saying? I knew what was going on. That's why I left that first time. But no, I don't think it should be an uncomfortable conversation. Because it's like, you gave me this contract for a reason. You know what I'm saying? Not just because I'm a great football player, but because you knew who I was as a football player. You know what I'm saying? And so I think it should be an easy conversation. And for the most part, even when I got here with AG, it was, you know, he was a former player. So he knows, players know themselves better than coaches, you know, especially when they're coming from other teams.

• 31:38Speaker 05

  So it was an easy conversation. I honestly don't know why I didn't, I didn't have that conversation in Pittsburgh. This has never happened.

• 31:49Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, and I think here, they did a full reset more than a rebuild. Because they brought in veterans like yourself, Gino, Isomario.

• 31:57Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 31:57Fred Taylor?

  You know, guys with experience. Playing for coaches like Mike Tumlin and Nick Saban, is there any one thing that they taught you that you sort of now in this role as a veteran leader, pass down to the young guys that are here?

• 32:11Speaker 05

  I think one, one thing would just be to find a guy that does it the right way. And kind of just tuck yourself, you know, under his wing. That's something that I learned as soon as I got into the league. I think also, knowing what to do is extremely important. You can run a four-two, you could jump a forty-inch vertical, you could have a three-second shuttle. But if you don't know where to be, if you don't know what's going on around you, you're going to play like a four-six. You're going to jump like a thirty-inch vertical. You know what I'm saying? Because you're doing more thinking than you are playing. You know what I'm saying? So it'll be two things that I think that I learned from those guys.

• 32:49Ryan Clark?

  People who are crazy about football, like myself, and like you, were also football historians, right? We try to study the game as a whole, not just about ourselves, but the things that go on around us. Especially in Pittsburgh, you have a season with nine interceptions early. It seemed like all the potential everyone saw in you at Alabama, we were starting to see in the league. Everything was coming to fruition. Five Pro Bowls, three first team, All Pros. How do you feel you have maximized everything Minkah Fitzpatrick can be up until this point of your career?

• 33:26Speaker 05

  How do I feel like I've maximized?

• 33:28Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, do you feel like you've done what you would have expected yourself to do up until this point?

• 33:36Speaker 05

  Yes or no? I think the seasons that, kind of what we were talking about earlier, where we were having the down seasons. I wish that I gave more and played harder and like really pulled dudes along during those seasons. I feel like because I was so used to winning, you know, everywhere I went, that when we were losing, I would get frustrated. You know what I'm saying? And I would, rather than leaning into my team, I kind of like went like this and like tried to rely on other people to set the tone. And like during the week, when I went out there and played, I played, you know what I'm saying? But during the week, you know, I was still friendly with dudes and stuff like that. But I wasn't, I wasn't showing people how to win.

• 34:21Speaker 05

  You know what I'm saying? I was doing the right processes, or carrying out the right processes and doing the right things. But I wasn't like, hey, man, this is what we're going to be doing this week. You know what I'm saying? This is what we're not going to be doing this week. You know what I'm saying? The reason why we losing is because you don't know what to do. You know what I'm saying?

• 34:36Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 34:37Speaker 05

  We going to get you right. You know what I'm saying? And I feel like, you know, my first few years in Pittsburgh, I wasn't doing that. And then after a while, I started picking it up. I started, I learned that you can't really be like that with people unless you have a relationship with them. And I started, you know, pouring more into my teammates. And then started, you know, having the confrontations and pulling them along, you know what I'm saying? And stuff like that.

• 35:04Ryan Clark?

  Do you have, you know, and they know because they've been around me in Pittsburgh, we are all still legitimately brothers, right? Troy, Ike, Hamp, Joey. Like, we're all still like this, right? Because we had a lot of those conversations, on the field and off the field. But we also loved on one another. How difficult has it been, just from a personality standpoint, to develop some of those relationships for you? Where, I'm trying to put this nicely in my own words, like about me, where like sometimes, I might tell you something that feels like an asshole statement, but I'm really telling you because I love you.

• 35:46Speaker 05

  I love you, yeah.

• 35:47Ryan Clark?

  Right? And the thing you know is, in that moment, you know I'm being an asshole, but you also know I love you. Right? And I felt like that was always a part of leadership.

• 35:55Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 35:56Ryan Clark?

  Do you feel like now with the Jets, with AG, you're brought in here for a reason? You can be that sort of leader for what is a team that's still trying to learn to win?

• 36:06Speaker 05

  Yeah, a hundred percent. I think the most important thing is, what you said, was getting to know my teammates first. You know what I'm saying? Going to dinners with them, hanging out in the locker room. Where normally my personality is, I'm going home to my lady and my son. I'm cooling, you know what I'm saying? I ain't doing nothing, you know what I'm saying? I'm going in the locker room, I'm watching my iPad, or I'm in the nap pad, you know what I'm saying? But you know, I'm trying to challenge myself to get it on my teammates. So that when the time comes, where I could get on somebody, they know that he's doing this because he wants the best out of me. He's not doing it to attack me, you know what I'm saying? But even if they do take it that way, it's like I could pull them to the side afterwards and be like, hey, bro, I'm trying to win. You know what I'm saying?

• 36:51Speaker 05

  I'm trying to get the best out of you. Because you're only going to be as good as you are, or as I am. You know what I'm saying? There's eleven dudes on this field. So just letting people know, you know, that I care for them, not just on the field, but off the field. And then, you know, really, really.

• 37:11Speaker 05

  You know, challenging them at the end of the day. I think that's, I mean, A.G.'s expressed that to me. That is why he brought me here. You know what I'm saying? So the first level is getting to know people and then we start pulling.

• 37:23Channing Crowder?

  So now you OG. You the OG.

• 37:26Speaker 05

  They calling me Unc, man. I don't know. I'm 29 years old, they calling me Unc, man.

• 37:31Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, you made me.

• 37:32Ryan Clark?

  Been here a long time, though.

• 37:34Channing Crowder?

  I won't say the name, but we just talked to another all-pro, multi-time Pro Bowler. And he was saying how he had the, he used to be the kick your ass guy.

• 37:42Ryan Clark?

  Nigga said Jeffrey Simmons, yeah.

• 37:43Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, Jeffrey Simmons. He was like, I used to be the kick everybody in ass guy, but I had to learn how to put my arm around his shoulder some people. And he was especially talking about the young guys. He's like, this, this, this new, these young rookies, these new age kids, you gotta change. How hard is it for 29-year-old to get one of these 20-year-olds that all they worry about is likes and insta snaps?

• 38:03Speaker 05

  Yeah, yeah.

• 38:04Ryan Clark?

  Not a thing.

• 38:04Speaker 05

  Insta snaps.

• 38:05Ryan Clark?

  Not a thing. Two different apps.

• 38:08Speaker 05

  Nah, it is, it is different. I will say, they, they do surprise me. You know what I'm saying? You have some dudes that come in and they're like 100% a pro. Whether it's the program that they came from or the way that they're raised, I don't know. But, but then you also have dudes that's extremely sensitive. You know what I'm saying? They, they haven't been, they haven't been challenged a whole lot. They haven't been asked to do a whole lot. You know what I'm saying? They haven't been asked to, you know, watch extra film. They haven't been told, you were wrong. You know what I'm saying? Some people just can't hear that. You know what I'm saying? But at the end of the day, and we've had, we have moments like that in, in our meeting room. You know what I'm saying?

• 38:51Speaker 05

  At the end of the day, we had to pull a couple dudes aside and be like, just, just breathe, just slow down. Like, it's all right to be wrong. I've been wrong. Everybody's been wrong. You know what I'm saying? No matter who's in this room, they've been wrong before. It's, it's all right. And we gonna correct it, we gonna fix it, and we gonna turn, turn the page. We gonna learn from it. You know what I'm saying? So I don't know what it is, whether it's the NIL or whatnot, but, or just the, the dynamics of college football. But it definitely is, it has been a, a reoccurring thing the last few years, yeah.

• 39:24Channing Crowder?

  When you walk in a room, do all the young people like, hey, Minkah coming, Minkah coming? Do they look at the ground?

• 39:30Speaker 05

  Nah, nah, nah. I don't, I don't think so. I don't know. Baby, you guys do.

• 39:36Ryan Clark?

  I'll say this before we let you go and thank you for your time. Two things. One thing, there is a young player here who's been very complimentary of you. And so I thought it was, I thought it was really cool. I was really extremely grateful for it. And he said, he's like, man, it's like having another coach on the team. So I will say that. And number two is, I don't know if like young R.C. and young Minkah would have gotten a fight, but old R.C. received a text from you in a moment where you were very honest. And I respect you so much that it made me reflect, right? And I hope you felt that in my response, that I respect you as a man. I love you as a player.

• 40:19Ryan Clark?

  And man, I truly, truly think people like you should get the opportunity to win big. Right? Cause it says, it says the right thing about the game, man. So best of luck this year, family.

• 40:28Speaker 05

  Thank you, sir.

• 40:28Ryan Clark?

  Man, no doubt, boy. Yes, sir.

• 40:31Fred Taylor?

  Hey, help me figure this out, cause I was curious. You got Justice, Promise, Destiny and Divine. Pops had to be selfish and get him a Minkah.

• 40:40Ryan Clark?

  That's how you gotta start, dawg.

• 40:42Fred Taylor?

  Where Minkah come from?

• 40:43Speaker 05

  So my, my grandfather's name was Justice as well. And he already named one of his, I think his oldest son was, was Justice 2. And he wanted to name my dad like ju, another Justice.

• 40:57Fred Taylor?

  Got it.

• 40:58Speaker 05

  But my grandmother was like, I'm not having three justices in the house.

• 41:02Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 41:03Speaker 05

  So Minkah means justice in a form of Swahili.

• 41:05Fred Taylor?

  And, and West, West, West African.

• 41:08Speaker 05

  It's like West African.

• 41:08Fred Taylor?

  Yeah. Akani, Ghanaians.

• 41:10Channing Crowder?

  Knew we was gonna do something deep.

• 41:11Ryan Clark?

  That's really dope.

• 41:12Fred Taylor?

  But the crazy thing is change, it's mean one who is just, righteousness. That's dope. Much respect, bro.