Safety Damontae Kazee was solid addition to Steelers, but will he return?

As Damontae Kazee stood in front of his locker at Acrisure Stadium not long after his sixth NFL season ended, his young son sat on a folding chair behind him.

Like most of that toddler’s generation, the youngster was being entertained by Kazee’s phone. And when it rang while the Pittsburgh Steelers safety was holding court with a handful of reporters, Kazee’s son answered it. It was the boy’s mother, and she asked to talk to his father.

“I am doing an interview right now,” Kazee said into the phone, “hold on.”

Kazee then seamlessly resumed answering a question from the media.

It was a lot like Kazee’s 2022 season: interrupted by awkward circumstance but put back on track by a steady Kazee.

“He’s been a playmaker for us,” fellow Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrck said. “His playmaking takes the pressure off myself and other guys to make plays.”

It hasn’t all been roses for Damontae Kazee over the past 13 months. But things are looking up for the playmaking safety — and for the #Steelers defense. https://t.co/jyfh5wj3uk

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) November 20, 2022

Kazee was a quality addition to the defense after the bye. The Steelers won seven of the nine games Kazee played. Appearing in more than half of the defensive snaps in that time, Kazee had two interceptions and 20 tackles (11 solo).

Pro Football Focus graded Kazee as the Steelers’ fourth-best defensive player in 2022, trailing All-Pros Cameron Heyward, Fitzpatrick and T.J. Watt among the 32 players the Steelers used on defense. PFF graded Kazee the Steelers’ top tackler, its second-best player against the run and its fourth best in coverage.

Not bad for a player who suffered a broken forearm during the preseason and had to serve a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. He, therefore, didn’t make his Steelers’ regular-season debut until November.

But because Kazee was on a one-year contract signed in May, there’s no guarantee he will be back for a chance at a full season with the team.

“I hope I come back,” Kazee said, “but business is business. I can’t hold my head down. Balance the good and bad. I know how to hit (free agency). I know how to get to another team. I have been there and done that. I have been in that position before.”

Twice, in fact. In 2021, he left the Atlanta Falcons to join the Dallas Cowboys for a year.

One thing, though, hasn’t changed for Kazee since being a fifth-round pick of Atlanta in 2017: Kazee is a proverbial “ball hawk.”

In 78 NFL games, Kazee has 14 interceptions and seven forced fumbles. He led the league in interceptions in 2018 with seven. As recently as 2021, Kazee was a fulltime starter for a 12-win, division champion team in Dallas.

Minkah Fitzpatrick on what the return of Damontae Kazee means to the Steelers secondary pic.twitter.com/hxaRwMEnQc

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 7, 2022

For the Steelers, though, he was more of a luxury. They have Fitzpatrick, one of the league’s best free safeties. And though he is also a pending free agent, Terrell Edmunds has served as a nice Fitzpatrick complement at strong safety.

Kazee’s skillset more suits him to play the Fitzpatrick role than “in the box” (his PFF tackling grade notwithstanding). But, perhaps in a nod to the quality of the trio at the position, the Steelers in 2022 deployed a three-safety package much more often than in recent memory.

Surely, they would be open to a similar arrangement in 2023. But in a salary-cap league, can the Steelers afford to pay “starter’s money” to three safeties? And will Kazee find more opportunities for playing time elsewhere? Another option is a Fitzpatrick-Kazee tandem, while letting Edmunds walk.

No matter what happens in the coming months, it’s safe to say Kazee won’t sweat it too much. It’s not in his nature. He’s too resilient in his career, too optimistic and buoyant in his outgoing personality.

Take how Kazee approached the Steelers’ season ending by way of the New York Jets’ loss at the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 8. News of that game ending broke just as the Steelers were wrapping up a convincing home win against the rival Cleveland Browns to close out a 9-8 season that followed a 3-7 start.

“Yes, I can celebrate the win (despite the circumstances),” Kazee said, “as long as we came out there and do what we need to do. I mean, it (stinks) we didn’t make the playoffs. But we look at ourselves as a team, we bought in, we didn’t let no 2-6 (record) get to us. A lot of teams would have folded through the whole year. We came back and fought. We knew what we had to do. So let’s enjoy it.”

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