I want to unlock the Minkah Ball

“I'm not going to talk nonsense to him,” said Edmunds, who was re-signed by the Steelers three weeks ago after being released by the Jaguars in the preseason. “It's rare (that Fitzpatrick isn't involved in turnovers), but teams avoid him. That's the biggest thing. He will put himself in that position. I know he works hard and studies hard.”

That could change this week against the Colts.

Indianapolis' second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson is dead last among NFL starters, completing just 49.3 percent of his passes. He has already intercepted six passes and is second in the NFL with seven turnover-worthy throws, according to Pro Football Focus.

But Richardson also leads the NFL in air yards per pass with 12.6 yards per attempt and 17.8 percent of his throws were deep.

This is Fitzpatrick's empire.

“Our front has to be really good and solid versus the run,” Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “We can keep (Fitzpatrick) there to defend those big balls. This will be a big challenge for us.”

Richardson will make some of those deep throws. He has 191 passing yards on long-distance completions. And he can sling the ball deep downfield and trust his arm and receivers to run under the ball.

Wide receiver Alec Pierce leads the NFL with 25.0 yards per catch, and the Colts have a group average of 16.1 yards per reception.

“He’s just an avatar of an athlete,” Austin said of Richardson. “And when you talk about him running, of course he has the ability to uncork a bomb even if he's a little off balance. And that’s always dangerous.”

“The thing we preach to our guys, obviously, is to make sure they don't let up at any point against this guy. He has enough skills to avoid rushes, generate some speed and then also get the ball down the field.”

Edmunds was inactive in each of his first two games since returning to the Steelers. But perhaps this could be the week that Edmunds is finally part of the gameday squad, especially with Nick Herbig, who leads the Steelers in special teams snaps with 61 and starts this week in place of the injured Alex Highsmith.

If Herbig's special teams availability is limited, Edmunds could be a good replacement for those units.

“He's good. TE was always good,” Austin said. “I've always been a guy that comes to the meeting early, it helps him get reacquainted with our surroundings and everything else.

“So he's doing a good job and I think he's kind of gotten himself back on his feet in terms of what we're doing here and how we're doing it. So I would hope that we'll probably see him sooner rather than later.”

And perhaps that would give Fitzpatrick a chance to rekindle his streak of forced turnovers with Edmunds in uniform.

“It would be crazy if the first time I get a helmet he goes out and catches a pick or two,” Edmunds said. “I hope he does because that will fire him up. I hope so.”

One area Fitzpatrick has been active in is getting opposing players to the floor.

According to Pro Football Focus, he has been the NFL's safest tackler so far this season, with 15 tackles on 15 attempts. Considering Fitzpatrick is often asked to ground opponents in space, this is extremely good.

But it's nothing new. Fitzpatrick has also missed less than 10 percent of his tackles in each of the last two seasons.