The Pittsburgh Steelers experienced some major attrition, as Mike Tomlin would like to say, at the safety position on Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts. Minkah Fitzpatrick and Trenton Thompson both got hurt in the game while Damontae Kazee got ejected for a big hit on WR Michael Pittman Jr. where Kazee hit Pittman’s head with his shoulder pad as he laid out to catch a pass from QB Gardner Minshew II.
Tom Brady took to social media to defend Kazee and the hit, stating that quarterbacks must do a better job of keeping their pass catchers out of harm’s way. The cast of First Take on ESPN talked about Brady’s stance on the hit, agreeing with the seven-time Super Bowl champ — and disagreeing with Kazee getting a season-ending suspension for the hit.
“I don’t agree with the suspension,” Smith said on First Take. “For the rest of the season? I mean damn… that’s a hard one right there. You know a game, maybe two, but the whole season? I know the season’s almost over, don’t get me wrong, but when we say the rest of the season, we know what that connotes. The significance of those words, and I have a problem with that.”
Kazee’s season-ending ban came due to the fact that he was a repeat offender, having been fined five times for unnecessary roughness by the league for similar hits where he would lead with his head/shoulder on a ball carrier. As a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Kazee was ejected from a 2018 game for this hit on Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton. But he was not suspended and played the rest of the season. Sharpe saw it the same way Smith did, stating that he understood why the league handed him a suspension, but didn’t believe that it should’ve been season-ending.
“Kazee had four prior to this game on Saturday, so I am not surprised that he got suspended,” Sharpe said. “I would’ve thought maybe at least a game, but for the entirety of the regular season, and if they make the playoffs? I thought that was a bit much, even though he has a prior history of these type of hits.”
Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was suspended for four games due to similar issues with unnecessary roughness hits, being a repeat offender this season much like Kazee. Still, the wording of the suspension does give more weight and context stating that Kazee received a four-game suspension, which would effectively end his season versus being suspended the rest of the season. One gives the player being suspended an idea of how many games he is being suspended for because of his actions whereas the other is less clear and could be compared to getting suspended 10 games compared to three games because both would be “season-ending”.
Given the emphasis that the league has put on keeping defenders from initiating contact to the head and neck area of a defenseless player, it makes sense why Kazee got suspended. However, ending his season seems a bit harsh, especially since he was attempting to just do his job of preventing Pittman from reeling in the catch, being put in a bad position due to Minshew’s poor placement of the football.
Playing defense has become harder with the rules and emphasis on player safety, which are good things the league should be doing. Still, it puts players like Kazee in a bind, having to make a split-second judgement call on whether to try and make a play or pull up and give up the catch to keep himself from getting into a position where he could get ejected and suspended the rest of the season — like he did against the Colts.
