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MARK DIGIOVANNA FROM LIBERTY HILL, TX: With Deshon Elliott suffering a serious knee injury against Green Bay and with how Miami is playing, is there any scenario where Minkah Fitzpatrick makes it back to the Steelers this season? I'm not suggesting it, but if both sides were interested, would there be any rules preventing it?

ANSWER: There is an NFL rule prohibiting a team from acquiring a player in a trade in the same year that team traded away that same player. A team cannot re-acquire a player it traded away until 2 full NFL seasons have passed. To use your specific example to explain the rule, since the Steelers traded Minkah Fitzpatrick in June 2025, they are prohibited

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