Eddie Jackson on Minkah Fitzpatrick: 'Just a gamer'

Miami Dolphins defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick (29) breaks up a pass to New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski during an NFL game on Sept. 30, 2018, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

By all accounts, it seems Miami Dolphins defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick's NFL career is off to a good start.

For instance, here's some of what the Chicago Bears, the Dolphins' Sunday opponent, had to say about Fitzpatrick.

Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Fitzpatrick had "really, really good instincts and a natural feel for the game," and Bears coach Matt Nagy said he had "that great mix of enough size to cover tight ends but enough speed to cover wide receivers."

"I think everybody in the NFL knew that when they were looking at him and evaluating him," Nagy told the Chicago Tribune. "And what we thought he was from evaluating him, he's showing it on the field. He's playing well."

Chicago safety Eddie Jackson might know Fitzpatrick even better than those experts who've studied him on video. Jackson spent two seasons as Fitzpatrick's teammate in Alabama's secondary.

"Minkah was just a gamer," Jackson said. "He was a playmaker. He was a guy you could count on every day to come out and put everything on the line. For me, he was an exciting guy to play with."

Since joining the Bears as a fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, Jackson has played all but 12 of Chicago's 1,294 defensive snaps. Fitzpatrick sat out more snaps than that in his first game.

Despite the praise that his play has elicited, Fitzpatrick has been on the field for all the defensive snaps in only one of Miami's five games. Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke said Miami has Fitzpatrick covering so many spots in the secondary that his playing time is a balance of the team's needs and its desire to allow him to catch his breath in his first NFL season.

"We're putting a lot on Minkah right now already as it is," Burke said during a Thursday press conference. "We've obviously had smaller injuries at different spots back there. I just think we're conscious of not putting even more on his plate -- too much on his plate -- too soon. We're asking a lot. We're plugging him in at some different positions -- at both safety spots and nickel and those sorts of things. He's a good player. We obviously want our good players on the field, so we're not necessarily trying to hold him back from that. But at the same time, there's a little bit of diminishing returns putting too much on his plate. ...

"We don't want to take away from what he's already been good at and the things that he's doing and the progress that he's making at certain spots. We're giving him what we think he can handle, and, again, I mentioned it last week, some of the stuff -- play times and snap counts -- are dictated by what we're getting from the opposing team, too. I'm not trying to get him off the field, I can promise you that."

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Fitzpatrick has played 80 percent of Miami's defensive snaps and started two games when Reshad Jones, a Pro Bowl safety in 2017, was sidelined by a shoulder injury. On Sunday, the Dolphins played without former Oxford High School standout Bobby McCain, scrambling their situation at cornerback.

Jones returned on Sunday and was a full participant in practice this week. But McCain was a limited participant in his only practice on Friday because a knee problem, and the other starting safety, T.J. McDonald, missed a day of practice with a foot injury. Both are listed as questionable on this week's injury report.

Fitzpatrick ranks second on the Dolphins with 34 tackles and has one of Miami's 10 interceptions.

The Bears and Dolphins kick off at noon CDT Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

After winning its first three games of the 2018 season, Miami has lost its past two, including blowing a 17-point lead in a 27-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

The Bears are coming off their bye week and will try to recapture the momentum of a three-game winning streak that following a one-point loss in their season-opening game.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

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