Damontae Kazee will miss the final three games of the regular season after the Pittsburgh Steelers safety lost his appeal with the league for his suspension imposed earlier this week. The NFL suspended Kazee for the remainder of the season after he made a helmet-to-helmet hit on Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the Steelers' 30-13 road loss in Week 15.
Kazee can return for the playoffs if the 7-7 Steelers qualify for the postseason.
In a letter to Kazee, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote the following statement:
“With 8:49 minutes left in the second quarter, you were involved in a play that the league considers a serious violation of the rules of the game. The video of the play shows that you delivered a strong blow to the Colts' head/neck area. Receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who was in a defenseless position. You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided. Your actions were blatant and as a result you were disqualified from the game. When players breach the rules, they are designed to repeatedly protect the safety of players and, particularly when the breaches involve a significant risk of injury to an opposing player, it is appropriate to impose significantly higher penalties.”
The hit, shown in the video below, occurred when Kazee flew downward and hit Pittman in the head and neck area as the receiver attempted to come to the ground with the football.
The hit forced Pittman to leave the game with a concussion. As previously reported, Kazee appealed his suspension, but to no avail.
“I want to shed light on the situation of defensive players who feel like they need to make plays to keep their job, but also have no intention of getting hurt,” Ron Butler said. “These are the most common fines I have dealt with since I became an agent. I understand that they are trying to clean up the game, but at this point it is a bit extreme. As for the idea of Kazee receiving a harsher sentence.” As a “repeat offender,” it's important to remember that most of his fines issued this season were overturned upon appeal. Therefore, we must be careful in this classification and presentation.”
The 30-year-old is in his seventh NFL season and will be his second with the Steelers in 2023. Kazee was a fifth-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 NFL Draft. His two interceptions this season are tied with cornerback Levi Wallace for the Pittsburgh team lead. Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee) is already out for Week 16 against the Bengals, while safety Trenton Thompson is questionable with a stinger. The team may need cornerback Patrick Peterson to move to safety this week.