Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers could come face to face with one of their former defenders in the next couple weeks.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee is signing to the Detroit Lions practice squad, according to NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
The Lions recently lost starting safety Brian Branch to a torn Achilles and will now rely on the former Steeler to help fill his void. It just so happens that Detroit has a matchup with Pittsburgh in Week 16, too, which gives Kazee enough time to get acclimated to his new team to potentially have an impact in the game.
Kazee, 32, has been looking for his next opportunity since abruptly parting ways with the Cleveland Browns last month. He had signed with the Browns in May, but failed to record any statistics in four games.
Kazee played for the Steelers from 2022-24, playing in 38 games and making 14 starts during his three-year tenure in the Steel City.
During that span, he mostly served as a backup to starting free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, racking up 112 tackles, two fumble recoveries, seven passes defensed and five interceptions.
The addition of strong safety DeShon Elliott and a more-healthy season for Fitzpatrick caused Kazee’s role to decrease to 289 snaps in 2024.
Pittsburgh then replaced Kazee this past offseason with former Browns safety Juan Thornhill, who has since been released and joined the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Kazee began his career as a fifth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He spent the first four years of his career in Atlanta before joining the Dallas Cowboys in 2021.
A native of San Bernardino, California, Kazee has recorded 363 tackles, eight forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 24 passes defensed and 17 interceptions in his professional career.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Steelers Defender Joins Upcoming Opponent
