Pittsburgh Steelers S Damontae Kazee was suspended by the NFL for a hit that got him ejected from the game on Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts. The hit resulted in a concussion that knocked WR Michael Pittman Jr. out of the game. The suspension was reported Monday afternoon by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport on X.
Former NFL QB and one of the all-time greats, Tom Brady, weighed in on the suspension in an Instagram comment on SportsCenter’s post following the news.
“Nobody likes seeing players get hurt. But hard hits happen,” Brady wrote. “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 need to read coverages and throw the ball to the right places and defenders should aim for the right hitting areas. To put blame on the defense player all the time is just flat out wrong. Need better QB Play!! It’s not OK QBs to get your WRs hit because of your bad decisions!”
Brady discussed this general concept recently on an episode of the Stephen A. Smith Show.
There will be a lot of takes on this suspension. NFL defenders are increasingly put in lose-lose positions. Player safety is very important, no doubt, but defenders are bearing the brunt of the changes. Fines for player safety infractions have been rampant this season and things are set to get worse next year with the hip-drop tackle getting a look in the offseason and likely to be banned. Brady isn’t fully absolving Kazee of blame, but rather shifting the discussion and assigning some blame to QB Gardner Minshew as well.
Here is the hit in question from Kazee.
Pittman was in the process of completing the catch for a big gain and Kazee hit him to try and knock the ball loose. That would have been a great play 15 years ago but will draw a flag for hitting a defenseless receiver in the head/neck area every time in this day and age. Kazee and his agent are already in the process of appealing the suspension. If the suspension holds, the Steelers will be without Kazee the rest of the season. With S Minkah Fitzpatrick back on the mend and already ruled out for Week 16, the Steelers’ defense is in trouble.
