SCB Steelers Quick Hitters: The ‘Kazee Pays the Price’ Edition

Good Tuesday to you Steelers fans.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ safety Damontae Kazee was suspended for the rest of the season by the National Football League following his hit on ‘defenseless’ receiver Michael Pittman, Jr. Kazee is no stranger to big hits and he’s no stranger to being hit by the NFL for those hits. He’s been fined several times this season but was never suspended which made the NFL’s decision that much more ridiculous. Other players, Denver’s Kareem Jackson, were given shorter suspensions while Kazee was shown the door on his 2023 season. Even if the Steelers make the playoffs he will not be allowed to participate pending his appeal to the League. An objective view will tell you that Kazee’s hit on Saturday was dangerous, no doubt about it, but I struggle to understand what Kazee was supposed to do. If he pulls up, he gives the receiver a clean opportunity to catch the ball. THIS… is what the NFL wants. A catch by Pittman, Jr there is a first down, keeps the offense moving and gives fans precious fantasy points. Kazee’s hit was violent but he also did it properly by leading with his shoulder. That didn’t matter however. What I also didn’t understand was why he was immediately ejected. There wasn’t even a review to see if he had ‘targeted’ Pittman, Jr. Kazee was tossed on the spot. Kazee is not entirely innocent in all of this as he’s built a reputation for being a hard hitter and he’s crossed the line several times in the past but let’s also not be naive. The NFL paints this as “taking these hits out of the game.” Bull shit. They want tackling out of the game period. It’s only a matter of time before two-hand touch gets too aggressive.

Rudy

I’ve never been a fan of Mason Rudolph. I didn’t like the selection of him in the third round of the 2018 draft and I haven’t been exactly blown away by his skills to this point either. But there’s a portion of me that feels bad for him. He’s never been liked by the fan base simply because he was perceived as a threat to Ben Roethlisberger. Now, after two years of sitting on the bench, he’s being called upon to keep the Steelers’ hopes of the postseason alive. Very little has been fair for Rudy since he arrived here and it’s not going to get any easier.

But…

There is a possibility that Kenny Pickett could play on Saturday. While Rudolph has been named the starter, Mike Tomlin didn’t totally close the door on the idea that Pickett could get the call. As Tomlin is fond of saying, practice will be their guide.

Minkah

Sounds very much like the Steelers will shut down Minkah Fitzpatrick for the remainder of the year following his knee injury on Saturday. With him out and Kazee suspended for the season, the Steelers are likely to start Trenton Thompson and Eric Rowe at the safety spots. Shutting Minkah down is the right thing to do. This team is not going anywhere and there’s no use in risking any further injury to him.