Steelers’ Demontae Kazee Suspended For 2023 Season After NFL Upholds Ruling

The NFL upheld its ruling concerning Pittsburgh Steelers’ safety Demontae Kazee Wednesday.

Kazee will be suspended for the rest of the 2023 season after injuring Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman with a hit to the helmet that was deemed unsafe.

The NFL cited the play, which could sideline Pittman with a concussion this week, as the reason for the suspension but also said that Kazee’s status as a “repeat offender” called for a harsher penalty. Kazee has been fined at least four times in his career for illegally using this helmet and hitting defenseless receivers. He was also suspended for three games in 2022 for violating the league’s substance policy.

“When players violate the rules intended to protect player safety on a repeated basis, and particularly when the violations carry with them a significant risk of injury to an opposing player, it is appropriate to impose substantially greater penalties,” NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan said in a letter.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday that Kazee was not a dirty player but understood how the league’s safety rules often place blame on defenders.

“Sometimes, it’s just professional football today and how difficult it is to operate, but the National Football League is really clear, man,” Tomlin said. “They put a hundred percent of the onus on the defender in those circumstances. It’s unfortunate, but we understand it.”

Quarterback Tom Brady posted on Instagram after the original ruling was made, arguing that Kazee was not completely at fault for the incident. Several retired players echoed this sentiment, including J.J. Watt.

“Nobody likes seeing players get hurt,” Brady wrote. “But hard hits happen. QBs should not be throwing the ball in areas where they are exposing their own teammates to these types of hits. Coaches need to coach better, QBs needs to read coverages and throw the ball to the right places and defenders should aim for the right hitting areas. To put the blame on the defense player all the time is just flat-out wrong.”

Because of his suspension, Kazee will miss the last three games of the regular season and lose more than $200,000 in salary.