Steelers S Damontae Kazee Fined for Hit on Chris Olave

The NFL has fined Steelers safety Damontae Kazee for his unnecessary roughness hit against New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave, ESPN reports.

Kazee ranged over the top in Cover 2 when Andy Dalton looked to hit Olave for a hole shot on a go ball. Kazee then hit Olave square under the chin. Olave ended up being okay, but the Saints received a personal foul and 15 yards for the penalty.

Just now learning that Damontae Kazee is a steeler. Falcons legend pic.twitter.com/2h9nrs89xH

— FFYT🎱 (@_FootballFilms_) November 18, 2022

After the game, Kazee maintained that there was no malicious intent behind the play. He was simply playing the ball and was trying to prevent the catch. Kazee went to check on Olave after the hit to make sure he was okay

“Listen, I wasn’t going out there to try and injure anybody,” Kazee said. “It’s football, I made a play on the ball and wanted to make sure he didn’t catch the ball. I made sure to check he was okay after it. I didn’t mean any harm.”

Regardless, the heightened player safety rules will get Damontae Kazee every time for a hit where he launched himself into Olave. Even though it is a bang bang play and a tough one for the defender to adapt to in football, that is the new expectation.