The Pittsburgh Steelers are re-signing one of their own, bringing back S Damontae Kazee on a two-year deal, according to The Score’s Jordan Schultz.
Kazee was originally signed to a one-year deal by the Steelers hours after the 2022 NFL Draft concluded. After breaking his arm in the summer, he returned after the team’s bye and become a key rotational/dime defender the rest of the season. He finished the year with 20 tackles and two interceptions, including picking one of Cleveland Browns’ QB Deshaun Watson in the regular-season finale.
A fifth-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2017, Kazee was lauded for his ball-hawking ability and physicality. He picked off a league-high seven passes in 2018 and has 14 in his career. He followed DC Dan Quinn to Dallas, bouncing back from a torn Achilles, but sat in free agency for the first several months of the 2022 offseason.
Kazee’s re-signing became more important once the team lost CB Cam Sutton. Kazee is a versatile chess piece who can align all over the secondary, providing and replacing flexibility Sutton had.
For his career, Kazee has appeared in 78 games, starting 53, and recorded 271 tackles with 14 interceptions and seven forced fumbles.
His signing doesn’t guarantee Terrell Edmunds won’t return. But it does seem to diminish those chances. Kazee is the first pending free agent the Steelers have re-signed. Other notable names include TE Zach Gentry, ILB Robert Spillane, and DL Larry Ogunjobi. The team also hasn’t done anything with restricted free agents CB James Pierre, C J.C. Hassenauer, and WR Steven Sims.
