Vincent Frank
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee was suspended three games by the NFL for his hit on Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. this past week.
While some big names around the league were not happy about the decision, the NFL’s decision was based in part on Kazee’s history of fines for illegal hits.
As was expected, the veteran appealed the suspension. And in what can’t be considered a surprise, it was upheld. NFL Senior Vice President of Football Michael Signora made the announcement via X on Wednesday evening.
“Hearing officer James Thrash, jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA, has upheld the suspension of Damontae Kazee for the remainder of the regular season. Thrash also ruled that Kazee would be eligible to return to the active roster for the playoffs, should the club qualify.”
NFL statement on upholding Damontae Kazee’s suspension
The decision to uphold Kazee’s suspension comes with Pittsburgh at 7-7 on the season and battling for its playoff lives after two consecutive ugly losses within the AFC.
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Impact of Damontae Kazee’s suspension on Pittsburgh Steelers playoff aspirations
As of right now, Mike Tomlin’s squad sits one game out of the final two AFC Wild Card spots heading into this weekend’s game against the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals. It is one game behind the Bengals and Colts while winning the tiebreaker against Cincinnati and losing it to Indianapolis.
Pittsburgh is also tied with the Denver Broncos at 7-7 on the season. It wins the tiebreaker against Denver based on a better winning percentage against conference foes.
Typically, a player of Kazee’s ilk being suspended wouldn’t gain a ton of national attention. He’s not well-known.
That’s until we realize how important the former San Diego State star has been next to Pro Bowler Minkah Fitzpatrick at safety. In 14 games (nine starts) this season, Kazee has recorded 61 tackles, three passes defended and two interceptions. He’s holding opposing quarterbacks to just 29 completions on the season.
Depth will be an issue for Pittsburgh with fellow safety Trenton Thompson having missed practice thus far on the week due to a stinger (neck) he suffered Sunday against Indianapolis. He’s highly unlikely to go this coming week.
Veteran Miles Killebrew will likely be called on to start. He’s started just five games since entering the NFL as a fourth-roud pick of the Detroit Lions back in 2016. Primarily a special teams player, Killebrew hasn’t seen action on defense in more than 16 snaps during a single game this season.
After taking on Cincinnati this coming week, Pittsburgh closes up shop on the NFL regular season schedule against the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens on the road. It’s not looking good for Mike Tomlin and Co.
