Steelers 2024 offseason roster – Safeties

Here is a look at the Steelers current group of safeties.

Last season the safety position was a nightmare for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Much like inside linebacker, the Steelers were hit hard with losses at safety which often forced some unusual pairings in the secondary.  Here is a look at the safeties on the roster heading into free agency.

Steelers announce multiple roster moves

The Steelers placed Trenton Thompson on IR and activated Damontae Kazee.

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced a handful of roster moves on Wednesday ahead of this week’s playoff showdown against the Buffalo Bills. First and foremost, the team activated safety Damontae Kazee after serving his three-game suspension.

The team also placed safety Trenton Thompson on IR. Thompson did a nice job filling in with the rash of losses in the Steelers secondary. Pittsburgh also brought back wide receiver Dan Chisena and signed him to the practice squad. To make room on the practice squad, the team released running back Jake Funk.

Pittsburgh won their final three games of the season and got some help from the Tennessee Titans to get into the playoffs. The Steelers not only got Kazee back but should have Minkah Fitzpatrick back as well against the Bills.

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Steelers S Damontae Kazee returns to work with team after suspension

The Steelers got safety Damontae Kazee back on Monday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been without strong safety Damontae Kazee for the past three games while he served a suspension imposed by the NFL. The suspension was a cumulative punishment for multiple borderline hits this season.

On Monday, Kazee returned to the team facilities and was back to work preparing for this week’s game. And just in time. Pittsburgh is working on prep to take on the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round of the playoffs and needs all hands on deck on defense. This is especially true after outside linebacker T.J. Watt went down with a knee injury on Saturday that will keep him out at least this week.

In another piece of good news about the safeties, Minkah Fitzpatrick said after Saturday’s win if the team made the playoffs he would play so look for Pittsburgh’s secondary to be in the best shape it has been in in over a month.

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Ex-Falcons DB Damontae Kazee suspended for rest of season

The NFL has suspended former Falcons safety Damontae Kazee for the remainder of the season for his hit on Colts WR Michael Pittman.

Former Falcons defensive back Damontae Kazee stirred up some controversy last week when he was ejected from the Steelers’ matchup against the Colts for his hit on wide receiver Michael Pittman.

Kazee, who has a bit of a reputation for borderline hits, was suspended for the remainder of the regular season. The NFL denied Kazee’s appeal and will uphold the suspension, the league announced on Wednesday.

Kazee could potentially return this season if the Steelers make the playoffs. Currently, Pittsburgh is currently 7-7 in the AFC South with three games left to play. Not everyone agreed that the Steelers safety deserved to be suspended, though.

While the play looks bad, some felt that Colts QB Gardner Minshew hung Pittman out to dry and that Kazee did nothing wrong. Judge the play for yourself below.

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NFL mocks Steelers with Damontae Kazee suspension appeal ruling

The NFL upheld the suspension of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee — with one minor tweak.

There’s been a minor change in Damontae Kazee’s suspension, which was handed down on Monday. The original sentence was for the safety to be suspended for the remainder of the 2023 season, including playoffs. While hearing officer James Thrash upheld it, he’s now eligible to return to the active roster for the playoffs. Only one problem: the Pittsburgh Steelers’ chances of making it to the postseason currently stand at 3%, according to the New York Times.

Yeah, thanks.

Kazee’s suspension stems from an illegal hit of defenseless Indianapolis Colts receiver Michael Pittman, Jr., for which he was ejected. The NFL’s statement specified Kazee repeatedly violated “playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players.”

The seven-year veteran has been fined four times by the league this season for similar violations and will forfeit an estimated $208,000 in game checks by missing Pittsburgh’s final three games.

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NFL to hear appeal of Steelers S Damontae Kazee’s suspension

Damontae Kazee will meet with the NFL on Wednesday to plead a lesser sentence for his illegal hit on Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr.

Damontae Kazee, the Pittsburgh Steelers safety whom the NFL suspended on Monday, will appeal his sentence on Wednesday, according to agent Ron Butler of Agency 1. Per Butler, his plea will be heard by NFLPA appeals officer and former wide receiver James Thrash.

Illegal hits are everywhere; some even go unnoticed, but to suspend Kazee without pay for three games is a bit extreme. The monetary fine will be handed down on Saturday. Given his recent history of $11,806 in fines for similar offenses, expect this one to be significantly more.

Kazee has had a reputation of being a hard hitter since entering the league in 2017. He’s always played in that gray area, and it’s finally caught up to him.

It couldn’t come at a worse time for the Steelers, whose safety room is now expected to defend on one leg when they haven’t been able to all season with two.

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Colts assistant and former Steelers S Mike Mitchell sounds off on Kazee suspension

Even Colts coaches don’t agree with the suspension of Damontae Kazee.

When he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Mitchell was one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the NFL. Mitchell was an enforcer and one of the most physical guys on the field any given week.

Mitchell spent four of his 10 NFL seasons with the Steelers and developed a reputation as one of the biggest hitters in the secondary. In 2022, Mitchell joined the Colts as a defensive assistant and he took to Twitter on Monday after the suspension of Damontae Kazee was announced and he was frank about his concerns with it.

“I don’t know what to tell my safeties anymore,” Mitchell wrote. “I guess just let them [receivers] catch it. If I were a WR I would dive for every catch. That would ensure no contact and a completed pass. Playing deep safety in today’s NFL where rules are made mostly by people who’ve never played is tough.”

After going back and watching the play that Kazee was ejected for far too many times, there’s zero doubt he had no ill intent. If Colts quarterback Garner Minshew puts that football on target, we aren’t having this conversation today. The hit was big but I’m not even sure if it qualifies as an illegal hit, much less a dirty hit.

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Tom Brady had a compelling take on Damontae Kazee’s suspension for controversial hit with Steelers

Tom Brady doesn’t think the Damontae Kazee suspension puts blame on the right parties.

After Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee got suspended for the rest of the season for a bunch of hits on opposing players, former NFL quarterback Tom Brady came to his defense for the play that pushed him over the line.

Kazee’s Saturday hit on Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. left the latter with a concussion and the former ejected from the game. Now, the Steelers safety will not play for the remainder of the schedule.

Commenting on an ESPN SportsCenter Instagram post on the news, Brady felt that hard hits like the one Kazee made happen are on quarterbacks and coaches to make sure these moments don’t happen:

“Nobody likes seeing players get hurt. But hard hits happen. 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 needs to read coverages and throw the ball to the right places and defenders should aim for the right hitting areas. To put the 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!”

The comment had more than 55,000 “likes” from Instagram users who endorsed Brady’s commentary on the suspension.

Coupled with his recent commentary on how he feels the modern NFL is being played at a mediocre level, it sure sounds like Brady is more than fine with transitioning into a self-appointed ombudsman of sorts for the league he used to dominate.

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Steelers fans, media blast NFL for Damontae Kazee suspension

Steelers fans and media members are ripping the NFL for its decision to suspend Damontae Kazee.

Already painfully thin at safety, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ backfield just got thinner. This afternoon, the NFL came down with a suspension of Damontae Kazee for the remainder of the 2023 season, including any postseason play (insert joke here).

Kazee was ejected for his crushing 2nd quarter blow on Indianapolis Colts receiver Michael Pittman, and it’s been a hotly debated topic since.

The seven-year veteran plans to appeal the suspension.

Steelers fans and media, including Tom Brady, blasted the NFL for its decision.

Tom Brady defends Steelers S Damontae Kazee hit, blames QB Gardner Minshew

Steelers fans’ distaste for Tom Brady is a little less foul today.

A bad taste still remains in the mouths of almost every Pittsburgh Steelers fan when it comes to Tom Brady. But today, it’s a little less foul.

In response to Adam Schefter’s Instagram post that the NFL suspended Damontae Kazee, Brady took to Instagram to blame his counterparts for exposing their teammates to certain hits.

Nobody likes to see players get hurt. But hard hits happen. 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 the 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!

Kazee plans to appeal the suspension.

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