Wednesday was Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick's 25th birthday.
But because he's currently on the Reserve/COVID-19 List, he couldn't spend the day with his teammates preparing to play the Chargers on Sunday and then perhaps going out for dinner later.
Fellow safety Terrell Edmunds spoke with Fitzpatrick, who tested positive on Monday, to wish his friend a happy birthday and check in on him before the Steelers (5-3-1) had their first practice of the week as they readied to play the Chargers (5-4) at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
He said Fitzpatrick was in good spirits.
"He’s said he’s doing well, just getting back healthy again," Edmunds said.
But does that mean Fitzpatrick might have an opportunity to return and play for the Steelers in what could be a pivotal game in their season?
"I don’t know. I couldn’t answer that question," Edmunds said. "It’s really how he feels and how his body feels. I don’t really know."
Fitzpatrick would need to be symptom-free of the virus and then have two negative tests within a 24-hour period before 4 p.m. Saturday to be cleared to play for the Steelers this week.
Much the same way the Steelers are prepping as if they won't have Ben Roethlisberger, who tested positive last Saturday, they're also getting ready to play the Chargers without their two-time All-Pro safety, as well.
"We’ve got to prepare like we’re not going to have any of the guys who are injured right now," said Edmunds, who has recorded an interception and a sack this season. "We’ve got to prepare like whoever the guys who are out there practicing today are going to be the guys. We’ve got to lock in and prepare that way."
And then be pleasantly surprised if that isn't the case.
If Fitzpatrick, who leads the Steelers in tackles, does miss the game, it would be the first time he'll have missed a game with the Steelers in his four-year NFL career. It also would mark just the second time in three seasons the Steelers won't have their starting duo of Fitzpatrick and Edmunds on the field together for a game.
Edmunds missed last year's regular season finale in Cleveland with a shoulder injury. The Steelers lost that game, 24-22.
Rookie Tre Norwood, a seventh-round draft pick, and veteran Karl Joseph, a 2016 first-round draft pick of the Raiders, could see time at free safety as the Steelers might be forced to mix and match to account for the loss of Fitzpatrick.
"Minkah’s the type of guy that it might be a multiple person job in an effort to highlight their individual skills," Mike Tomlin said. "Minkah has a well-rounded skillset. You put him in any circumstances, he’s gonna perform relatively well. It may divide the labor up a little bit more, but that's what we do. We look at the hand that's dealt, we play the hand that's dealt, and we put ourselves in a position to win."
Norwood has been used both at free safety and slot corner this season, depending on how the Steelers wanted to deploy Fitzpatrick. He has 19 tackles and three pass defenses this season.
Joseph, who played with the Browns last season, has started 49 career games and has five interceptions. Joseph was signed to the practice squad earlier this season and has been active for one game. He would need to be brought up off the practice squad to play in this game.
"We have Tre, he’s been playing with us in different personnel groups already," Edmunds said. "We already know that Tre is a great player. We have all different kinds of guys who can come in and make plays for us. We’ll see how everything plays out.
"We had some mixing and matching. We’re trying to figure out what we need to do to go in and win the football game, put people in the right roles to go out and make plays."
Fitzpatrick hasn't been the ball hawk that he showed to be in his first two seasons with the Steelers when he had nine interceptions, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in his first 30 games with the team. He has yet to record an interception this season and has forced one fumble.
But his value extends beyond just taking the ball away.
"He definitely makes an impact because of his leadership out there," Edmunds said. "He’s a very vocal guy. He’s a guy you can always count on to be in the right spots. Even though he doesn’t have the interceptions or turnovers people want him to have, he’s still playing good football for us."
The Steelers could be forced to go into the unknown a little more if he's out.
Fitzpatrick and Edmunds rarely leave the field. Fitzpatrick missed his first defensive snap of the season in last week's 16-16 tie against the Lions when he left the field for one play and then returned. He's played 99.8 percent of the team's defensive snaps this season. Edmunds is at 98.3 percent.
Those are the two highest snap counts for any Steelers defenders -- by far.
To make things even more difficult, the Steelers also could be playing without cornerback Joe Haden (sprained foot) and outside linebacker T.J. Watt (knee/hip), though there seems a much better chance that Watt returns to play.
"Everyone," Edmunds said when asked who would be needed to step up on the defense. "We need everyone to step up. We need the corners to play a little bit better. We need the linebackers to play better. We need the safeties to play better. We’ll get them out there and make them feel as comfortable as we can."
THE INJURY REPORT
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
One of the few bright spots for the Steelers the past few days came in the form of Chase Claypool returning to the field for practice, though he was limited. Cam Heyward was held out as the result of a coaches decision. Joe Haden, Trai Turner, Kevin Dotson and T.J. Watt, all hurt against the Lions, did not practice Wednesday.