The Pittsburgh Steelers turned over their roster a little bit this summer, getting rid of a number of veterans early in the offseason, including Mitch Trubisky, Chukwuma Okorafor, and Pressley Harvin III. In early May, the team released safety Keanu Neal, but despite rumors that he could be on the chopping block, they didn’t cut safety Damontae Kazee. Kazee told Joe Rutter of TribLive that it was never on his mind that he may get cut.
“Never in my mind,” he said. “If it happens, I know how to move. I’m a vet. I have no hate in my heart. Just move on to the next.”
Pittsburgh is the third franchise that Kazee has played for, as he’s also played for the Atlanta Falcons and the Dallas Cowboys. After missing the early part of the 2022 season with an injury, Kazee flashed and had two interceptions for the Steelers, and he added another two in a bigger role in 2023. But he missed the final three games of the season after being suspended for a hit on Indianapolis Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. The Steelers could’ve looked to free up some money while upgrading the safety position next to Minkah Fitzpatrick by cutting Kazee after a season that wasn’t all that memorable.
While the team did upgrade at safety by signing DeShon Elliott, Kazee is still on the roster. He’s good depth for the safety room as someone who’s played a lot of football and has a nose for the ball with 16 career interceptions, and the Steelers could potentially look to have all three safeties on the field at the same time.
Kazee is only set to count $3,875,000 against the cap in 2024, so it wouldn’t have been any sort of major savings if the team were to release him. At that point, Kazee is probably more valuable, even if it’s in a depth/backup role, and the Steelers saw how quickly a room can fall apart due to injuries last season. They had to bring Eric Rowe off the street to fill their hole at safety after Kazee’s suspension and Minkah Fitzpatrick’s injury, so having a little added layer of depth with Kazee behind Elliott and Fitzpatrick makes a lot of sense.
Kazee wasn’t a starter for most of the 2022 season, starting just four of the nine games he played in, so it’s a role that he’s familiar with in Pittsburgh. When he did play that season, he made a positive impact and some nice plays on the ball, and hopefully, that can repeat itself in 2024.
