When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Dez Fitzpatrick last offseason, it was to fill the position room with depth. Then, the Lousiville product started popping off in the spring and summer workouts, even scoring three touchdowns in one practice last offseason.
While he never cracked the receiver rotation and stayed on the practice squad for a majority of the season, him putting good tape out there helped him earn another contract with the team. Now, the young wide receiver is scoring touchdowns again this offseason as he scored a touchdown in the team’s seven-shots drill during OTAs in May.
“It’s always good to score touchdowns,” Fitzpatrick told Alan Saunders of Steelers Now. “I was excited down there.”
Just putting good summertime tape out there is not good enough to make the 53-man roster. Fitzpatrick is aware of that and said that as a receiver, he needs to be ever-changing in order to make a name for himself, especially with a new offensive coordinator and quarterback room.
“Whenever you are changing coordinators and obviously the quarterback room is different, there is definitely going to be stuff to adjust from,” Fitzpatrick said. “Obviously, [wide] receiver is a very adaptable position so if you aren’t changing with it then you are getting left behind.”
With a whole new group of quarterbacks, and two of them being the “mobile” archetype, the Steelers wide receiver will need to adjust how they play since they have not had a quarterback that could extend the play since the prime years of Ben Roethlisberger. Fitzpatrick played with a few mobile guys in college and already knows how to play with them.
“One thing I used to always say back in college when we did have those mobile quarterback was ‘you are never not open,'” Fitzpatrick said. “Whenever you see the initial route ends and you look back and [the quarterback] is scrambling, there is a second opportunity for a second route right there so just got to stay open.”
While Fitzpatrick is in a similar spot as he was last year in regard to making the roster, he does have an advantage this season. Before he signed with the Steelers last offseason, he spent two seasons in Tennessee, where Arthur Smith used to coach. While he missed out of Smith’s time as Titans offensive coordinator, a bunch of the same terminology and verbiage was used while he was there.
“Some of the offense is familiar with me coming from the Titans,” Fitzpatrick said. “So I know some of the same verbiage, some of the same terminology. There is obviously some difference but I am a little familiar with it so I feel like I have an advantage there. So I have to just know all there positions and know the whole entire offense like the back of my hand.”
With a fairly crowded wide receiver room, there is not much hope for Fitzpatrick to make the active roster unless he outperforms a guy such a Quez Watkins, who the Steelers just signed in free agency. While it would be shocking to see Fitzpatrick steal a roster spot off of a guy ahead of him, it is not totally out of the picture.
82 • Dez Fitzpatrick, Wide Receiver, Louisville
6-foot-2, 208 pounds, 26 years old, 4th Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Dez Fitzpatrick to a reserve/future contract on Jan. 11, 2023, after his practice squad contract with the Tennesse Titans expired following the 2022 season.
Last Season: During Dez Fitzpatrick’s first season in Pittsburgh, he spent a majority of his time on the team’s practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster for one game but reverted back to the practice squad after. In his one game, Fitzpatrick failed to record a stat.
Fitzpatrick signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers in January to stay with the team.
Career: The Tennessee Titans selected Dez Fitzpatrick with the 109th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Fitzpatrick was waived prior to his rookie season but re-signed with the Titans’ practice squad.
After Julio Jones went down with an injury, Fitzpatrick was promoted to the team’s active roster. In four appearances, Fitzpatrick hauled in five of his eight receptions for 49 yards and one receiving touchdown. His first career touchdown came against the Houston Texans as he caught an 18-yard pass from Ryan Tannehill.
After appearing in four games and catching a touchdown in his rookie season, Fitzpatrick was only active for one game for the Titans in 2022. He spent the majority of the season on the team’s practice squad and then his contract expired after the season ended.
Fitzpatrick has played in six games over his first two seasons and has totaled five catches, 49 receiving yards, and one touchdown.
| Year | Team | GP | Targets | Receptions | Rec Yards | Rec Tds | PFF Rating |
| 2021 | TEN | 4 | 8 | 5 | 49 | 1 | 64.7 |
| 2022 | TEN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41.1 |
| 2023 | PIT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
College: Coming out of high school as a consensus four-star recruit, Dez Fitzpatrick decided to take his talents to the University of Louisville. Fitzpatrick redshirted during his freshman season at Louisville and did not appear in any games in 2016.
In 2017, Fitzpatrick appeared in 13 games for the Cardinals as a redshirt freshman. He hauled in 45 receptions for 699 yards, and team-high and career-high nine receiving touchdowns in his first year of playing college football. Following the season, Fitzpatrick earned honorable mention All-ACC nominations.
As a redshirt sophomore, Fitzpatrick logged 11 game appearances but his production took a hit. He finished the season with 31 receptions for 422 yards and three touchdowns.
In 2019, FItzpatrcik started 12 of his 13 appearances for the Cardinals. He finished second on the team with 35 receptions and totaled 635 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
In his final season at Louisville, Fitzpatrick appeared in 11 games. He tallied 43 receptions, 833 yards, and three touchdowns.
Over his five years as a Cardinal, Fitzpatrick played in 48 games and racked up 154 receptions for 2,589 yards and 21 receiving touchdowns. His 21 touchdowns ranked fifth all-time in school history.
After his redshirt senior season, Fitzpatrick attended the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl where he hauled in six receptions for 90 yards to lead all pass catchers.
| Year | GP | Receptions | Rec Yards | Rec TDs |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 13 | 45 | 699 | 9 |
| 2018 | 11 | 31 | 422 | 3 |
| 2019 | 13 | 35 | 635 | 6 |
| 2020 | 11 | 43 | 833 | 3 |
Salary cap and future: Dez Fitzpatrick will cost $985,000 against the team’s 2024 cap space if he makes the active roster. With none of the contract being guaranteed, the Steelers can part ways with Fitzpatrick without incurring any dead money in 2024 if they choose to release him at any point.
