Damontae Kazee Signs with Lions Practice Squad, Could Face Former Team in Week 16
The Pittsburgh Steelers might be seeing a familiar face across the line of scrimmage in just a couple of weeks.
Veteran safety Damontae Kazee, who spent the last three seasons in Pittsburgh, is signing with the Detroit Lions’ practice squad. The move comes as the Lions look to patch up their secondary following the season-ending Achilles injury to starting safety Brian Branch.
And here’s where things get interesting - Detroit is set to face Pittsburgh in Week 16. That gives Kazee just enough runway to get up to speed and potentially suit up against his old team. It's the kind of late-season twist that could carry real implications if he ends up playing meaningful snaps.
Kazee, 32, had been a free agent since parting ways with the Cleveland Browns last month. His stint in Cleveland was brief and quiet - signed in May, he appeared in four games but didn’t register any stats. Now, he’s getting another shot, this time with a Lions team that’s very much in the thick of the playoff race and needs reinforcements on the back end.
Steelers fans will remember Kazee as a steady rotational piece in the secondary from 2022 to 2024. Over 38 games - including 14 starts - he logged 112 tackles, five interceptions, seven passes defensed, and two fumble recoveries. Most of his work came as a backup to Minkah Fitzpatrick, but he was a reliable presence when called upon.
His role diminished in 2024, thanks in part to the arrival of strong safety DeShon Elliott and a healthier season from Fitzpatrick. Kazee saw his snap count drop to just 289 on the year, a clear sign the Steelers were moving in a different direction.
That shift became official this past offseason when Pittsburgh brought in former Browns safety Juan Thornhill to take Kazee’s spot. Thornhill’s tenure didn’t last long - he’s now with the Jacksonville Jaguars - but by then, Kazee was already out of the picture.
Kazee’s NFL journey began back in 2017 when the Atlanta Falcons picked him in the fifth round of the draft. He spent four seasons in Atlanta, followed by a one-year stop in Dallas before landing in Pittsburgh. Over his career, he’s tallied 363 tackles, 17 interceptions, 24 passes defensed, eight forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries - a solid résumé for a player who’s carved out a role wherever he’s landed.
Now, with Detroit, he gets a chance to prove he’s still got something left in the tank - and maybe, just maybe, he’ll get to do it against the team that knows him best. Week 16 just got a little more intriguing.