PITTSBURGH — Minkah Fitzpatrick could sense the vibe as he walked through the Pittsburgh International Airport last month, equal parts bleary eyed and adrenaline fueled following a trade that helped the second-year safety flee the rebuilding Miami Dolphins for the decidedly more stable Steelers.

From the jetway to the concourse, from the shuttle to the main terminal, Fitzpatrick was struck by the number of people who recognized him and wished him well even though he’d been in town for all of five minutes.

“Pittsburgh is a football city, a sports city,” Fitzpatrick said.

And Miami?

“It’s a different type of culture down there,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s not as big.”

With good reason. The Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since Bill Clinton’s final days in office and are yet in the midst of a massive reset under first-year head coach Brian Flores. Miami is winless (0-6) heading into Monday night’s visit to Pittsburgh (2-4), very much looking like a team that could use an intelligent, versatile and dynamic player such as Fitzpatrick. And yet he’ll walk onto the Heinz Field turf wearing black-and-yellow after asking the Dolphins to continue their reboot without him .

Fitzpatrick stressed it wasn’t personal, just business. He has no agenda he’s trying to push. No axe to grind. He wanted a change. The Dolphins — who are aggressively stockpiling draft picks in hopes of accelerating their makeover — accommodated him. When Flores scans Pittsburgh’s defense under the lights there won’t be any pangs of what might have been when he spots Fitzpatrick’s familiar No. 39.

“It’s something that happens,” Flores said. “We’ve moved on.”

Miami doesn’t really have a choice. The Dolphins received Pittsburgh’s first-round selection in next spring’s draft for Fitzpatrick and Flores has buried himself in trying to figure out a way to at least make his team competitive.

“I think if you start to think about everything other than that, `If this happens ... Why’d this happen? Why’d that happen?’ (it’s not beneficial),”’ Flores said.

Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, has certainly looked every bit worth the investment the Steelers made when they moved aggressively to land him just hours after losing safety Sean Davis for the season with a shoulder injury. Davis was entering the final year of his contract and Pittsburgh had made no overtures to re-sign him. Bringing in the 22-year-old Fitzpatrick addressed a need and in some ways provided an upgrade over Davis, who has been solid but not spectacular through three-plus seasons.

Less than a week into his new gig, Fitzpatrick picked off a pass and forced a fumble in a loss at San Francisco.