The NFL has suspended Steelers safety Damontae Kazee for the remainder of the season for a helmet-to-helmet hit that concussed Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr.
The league announced that the suspension is without pay, and would carry over into the playoffs should the Steelers qualify for the postseason.
“With 8:49 remaining in the 2nd quarter, you were involved in a play that the League considers a serious violation of playing rules,” NFL VP of football operations Jon Runyan, the former NFL offensive lineman who levied the suspension, wrote in a letter to Kazee that was publicized by the league.
“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. 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.”
Pittman is the leading receiver on the Colts with 99 catches for 1,063 yards so far this season.
He was able to walk off the field under his own power after the helmet-to-helmet hit.
Kazee will miss the Steelers’ games against the Bengals, Seahawks and Ravens.
Kazee was fined five different times for a total of $59,000 for unnecessary roughness this season.
“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’s letter continued.
Kazee is able to appeal the suspension, and the appeal would either be heard by former linebacker Derrick Brooks or former receiver James Thrash.
The Steelers are 7-7, and would finish one game out of a wild-card spot if the season ended today.