NFL suspends Steelers' Damontae Kazee for rest of season for hit on Colts receiver

The NFL suspended Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee for the final three games of the regular season and any potential postseason games the team plays.

The ruling came Monday from NFL vice president of operations John Runyan, two days after Kazee was ejected in the Steelers' 30-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis' Michael Pittman Jr. left the game following a play in which he dove for a pass and Kazee flew in and drilled the defenseless receiver. Flags littered the field and he was disqualified with 8:42 left in the second quarter.

In a letter to Kazee, the league cited a rule that prohibits players from forcibly hitting a defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder, "even if the initial contact is lower than the player’s neck, and regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him."

"The video of the play shows that you delivered a forcible blow to the head/neck area of Colts’ receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who was in a defenseless posture," Runyan wrote in the letter. "You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided. Your actions were flagrant, and as a result, you were disqualified from the game.”

Runyan added that the decision to suspend Kazee the rest of the season came as a result of Kazee committing other player-safety transgressions. “When players violate the rules intended to protect player safety on a repeated basis, and particularly when the violations carry with them a significant risk of injury to an opposing player, it is appropriate to impose substantially greater penalties,” Runyan wrote.

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Colts assistant defensive backs coach Mike Mitchell, a 10-year NFL safety who played for both the Steelers and Colts, wrote on social media that he didn't know how to coach his safeties anymore.

"I guess just let them catch it," Mitchell wrote. "If I were a (receiver) 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."

Mitchell wasn't alone in questioning the punishment. Tom Brady, who has made a habit of criticizing the state of the current quality of play, pinned the blame mostly on the throw from quarterback Gardner Minshew II that took Pittman upfield.

“To put the blame on the defensive player all the time is just flat out wrong. … It’s not OK QBs to get your WRs hit because of your bad decisions!” Brady wrote in an Instagram comment.

Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson had similar suspensions levied against him for comparable hits twice this season. The first four-game suspension was reduced to two games following an appeal process, but his second four-game ban was upheld later in the season.

Kazee can appeal his suspension through the collective bargaining agreement between the league and NFL Players' Association. Any appeal would be heard by Derrick Brooks or James Thrash.

The Steelers wrap up the regular season with games against the Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens. Head coach Mike Tomlin announced Monday that Mason Rudolph would take over the starting quarterback job from Mitchell Trubisky, the backup tasked with leading the offense while Kenny Pickett recovers from ankle surgery.