Indianapolis Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. doesn’t even remember the hit that handed Pittsburgh Steelers S Damontae Kazee a three-game suspension. But he doesn’t hold it against the defensive back for what he suggests amounts to doing his job.
Not for the first time, the veteran wide receiver talked about the hit, this time on Chris Long’s Green Light podcast. “I’m running and I don’t see anybody, so I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m wide open, I’m about to catch this ball and I’m about to score’”, he recalled of the play. “The ball’s thrown a little bit forward, so I dive and I catch it—and I just wake up. I don’t remember anything. I just wake up and everybody’s looking down on me”.
The play in question occurred midway through the second quarter on 2nd and 8. Pittman laid out for a pass from QB Gardner Minshew II, diving with outstretched arms. The only play Kazee could make was to dive himself and try to dislodge the ball. We know how that played out.
“It’s such a violent game. Do I think that he meant to cause that much harm? No. I think he was just trying to make a play”, Pittman said of the Kazee hit. “Now, do I wish that he didn’t hit me like that? Yes. But it’s football, and it’s violent. I know what I signed up for. But obviously I don’t want anybody to take those type of hits, and I definitely don’t want to take that hit again”.
Pittman suffered a concussion from the hit by Kazee. He said over a month ago that he was still recovering from it to some degree, a few weeks after the fact. But he only missed one game, returning for the final two. He caught 10 passes for 90 yards and played about 95 percent of the snaps.
A week after the incident, Pittman said that he felt the Steelers and Kazee indulged in some “headhunting”. At the same time, he also said that he disagreed with the league’s decision to suspend the safety.
For many years now, the NFL has put defenders in a difficult position in the name of player safety. The intentions are admirable, as far as they’re genuine, but are often impractical. Essentially, the league wanted Kazee not to attempt to make a play in that situation. Even defensive coordinator Teryl Austin admitted as much in the weeks following Kazee’s hit on Pittman.
The league originally suspended Kazee indefinitely, but upon appeal, he was allowed to return for the postseason. The Steelers did make it to the playoffs, but Kazee did not return to the starting lineup after missing time.
Pittman is hitting unrestricted free agency this offseason while Kazee is under contract for 2024 for $3 million. He’ll want to make as much of that as possible after losing out on three game checks. For his part, Kazee never really commented on the incident when he returned to the team.
