Today’s practice squad moves:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: S Damontae Kazee (story), DL Pat O’Connor
- Released: WR Andrew Armstrong
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Mehki Butler
- Released: G Bill Murray
New York Giants
- Signed: DL Casey Rogers
In need of safety depth, the Lions have found a veteran late in the year. Damontae Kazee is set to join Detroit for the stretch run. 
Kazee is signing with the Lions on their practice squad, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network report. If all goes well, he will be on the team’s active roster in short order. Detroit lost Brian Branch to an Achilles tear on Thursday, ending his season. The Kazee signing has since been announced by head coach Dan Campbell.
Of course, Kazee will not be tasked with replacing Branch’s production or his place in the starting lineup. Nevertheless, he could provide the Lions with veteran depth in the secondary and on special teams. Kazee has made 111 regular season appearances in the NFL, including four earlier this season with the Browns.
Last month, Cleveland released Kazee. He remained on the open market since then, but this Detroit deal will allow for the ninth-year veteran to carve out a role on his latest team. The Lions are currently 8-5, good for third in the NFC North. Detroit is on the outside of the playoff picture right now, and inconsistent play on defense (fueled in no small part by injuries, just like in 2024) has played a key role.
The Lions rank mid-pack in a number of defensive categories this year, and they are 19th in the NFL in terms of passing yards allowed. Losing Branch will hinder the team’s ability to improve in a number of areas down the stretch, but managing to replace him represents a major goal for the next four games. Kazee – who has made 63 starts, many of which came early in his career – will look to contribute in some capacity. Doing so would provide a boost to his chances of landing a deal relatively soon in free agency come the spring.
NOVEMBER 8: The Browns activated Tillman from IR on Saturday, per a team announcement, clearing the way for him to return on Sunday against the Jets. Cleveland also signed safety Christopher Edmonds to the active roster from the practice squad. He appeared on special teams in two games in 2024 as an undrafted rookie but has yet to take the field this season.
NOVEMBER 3: The Browns designated wide receiver Cedric Tillman to return from injured reserve on Monday, per a team announcement. Cleveland also released veteran safety Damontae Kazee from the 53-man roster.
Tillman started the first four games of the season and caught 11 of his 20 targets for 106 yards and two touchdowns. That is somewhat disappointing given his 71% snap share across those contests. The 25-year-old wideout suffered a hamstring injury in Week 4 that landed him on IR, but he will return to practice this week after the Browns’ Week 9 bye. He will have 21 days to practice with the team before he must be added to the active roster or revert to season-ending IR. Freeing up a 53-man roster spot right away indicates that Tillman will be activated sooner rather than later.
The Browns have struggled to get much production out of their wide receivers this season. Jerry Jeudy has regressed from his career-best production in 2024, and Jamari Thrash and Isaiah Bond have not impressed in their first NFL action. The rookie will likely step back into rotational roles when Tillman returns to the lineup.
The team’s quarterback woes are certainly a factor in their passing game struggles, as well. In theory, the return of a big-body receiver like Tillman could make life easier on Dillon Gabriel, but the 2023 third-rounder has not lived up to his draft profile of a physical deep threat with only 11.0 yards per catch and a 10.5-yard average depth of target in his career.
Kazee, a nine-year veteran, signed a one-year deal with the Browns during the offseason. He appeared in four games this year with 11 snaps on defense and 37 on special teams. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network notes this parting of ways was a mutual decision, with Kazee forfeiting his remaining guarantees (more than $200K) to allow for a fresh start.
Early this morning, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal previewed some opinions of players who could have breakout seasons for the Browns in 2025. One of these players was third-year safety Ronnie Hickman, whom Easterling believes has a chance to lock down a starting job in training camp. 
Hickman came to Cleveland as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State after forgoing his senior season with the Buckeyes. Despite his undrafted status, Hickman made the initial 53-man roster as a rookie and started four games in place of an injured Juan Thornhill late in the year. Last year, Hickman led the Browns in snaps aligned at safety, starting five more games for an injured Thornhill and getting plenty of time on the field in games he didn’t start.
Thornhill is gone now, having departed for Pittsburgh in free agency, so naturally, it seemed like there was going to be an opportunity for Hickman to firmly take the starting job. That was before the team signed two safeties on May 12 with extensive starting experience. Damontae Kazee signed with 63 starts in eight years with the Falcons, Cowboys, and Steelers. He’s also tallied 17 interceptions over that time, including a seven-pick performance that led the league in 2018. Rayshawn Jenkins comes in with 89 starts in eight years with the Chargers, Jaguars, and Seahawks, including five seasons in which he served as a full-time starter.
It would certainly make perfect sense for either veteran to fill in the starting role next to Grant Delpit in the upcoming season, but Hickman comes in with plenty of familiarity of the role, having shared it with Thornhill for much of last year. So far, it seems as if it’s his job to lose, forcing Jenkins and Kazee to beat him out of the spot.
The three other players highlighted by Easterling were wide receiver Kaden Davis, defensive tackle Michael Hall, and defensive end Isaiah McGuire. While Jerry Jeudy is obviously stealing the spotlight at workouts in Cleveland, Davis has been taking advantage of the absences of Cedric Tillman and Michael Woods II, catching the eyes of head coach Kevin Stefanski and wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea. The coaches have praised his work this offseason, and even if Tillman and Woods are back for training camp, the four-man quarterback race should still afford Davis several opportunities to be seen.
Hall’s rookie campaign was limited by a five-game suspension resulting from a domestic violence arrest and injury. As last year’s top draft pick in Cleveland, the Browns will be expecting a big jump for Hall in Year 2, and he should be running in the interior two-deep with rookie No. 5 pick Mason Graham, Maliek Collins, and Shelby Harris. After earning three starts in 16 appearance last year, McGuire is an easy pick to break out. With a strong sample of play in his time last year, the coaching staff thinks “very highly” of McGuire entering training camp, and he could end up with a starting job.
Damontae Kazee will remain in the AFC North despite joining a new team. The veteran safety has agreed to a deal with the Browns, as first reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Kazee spent the past three years with the Steelers, operating as a key defender during the 2023 season in particular. Last year, though, his playing time dropped considerably. It thus came as little surprise the 31-year-old remained on the free agent market well after the draft.
A veteran of 112 combined regular and postseason games, Kazee has also seen time with the Falcons (2017-20) and Cowboys (2021) during his career. He will provide plenty of experience for the Browns, a team which had Rodney McLeod in place last season. McLeod has not officially retired yet, but he said one year ago that he planned on 2024 being his final campaign in the league. This move certainly points to McLeod hanging up his cleats or at least playing elsewhere in 2025.
Cleveland has Grant Delpit attached to a $12MM-per-year deal at the safety spot, and the team also has former UDFA Ronnie Hickman – who has made nine starts during his two NFL seasons – in the fold. Kazee led the NFL with seven interceptions in 2018, but he has not surpassed two in a campaign since then. The San Diego State product will aim to earn a rotational role on defense but he could contribute on special teams as well.
The Browns entered Monday with just under $19MM in cap space. That figure will not be affected to a large extent by this Kazee pact, one which will likely check in at or near the veteran minimum. The deal will nevertheless give Cleveland a new veteran presence in the secondary.
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Reverted to IR: T Luke Tenuta
Miami Dolphins
- Signed from practice squad: OLB Melvin Ingram
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Restored to roster from suspension: S Damontae Kazee
- Placed on IR: S Trenton Thompson
The Dolphins now have an all-30-something set of pass rushers set to pressure Patrick Mahomes on Saturday. Three of them — Ingram, Justin Houston, Bruce Irvin — were not with the team going into December. Ingram rejoined the Dolphins last month and has played in three games as a practice squad elevation. The 34-year-old edge rusher saw his season snap share spike following the injuries to Bradley Chubb and Andrew Van Ginkel. Ingram played 58 defensive plays against the Bills.
DECEMBER 20: Kazee’s appeal of his season-long suspension has been deemed successful, at least partially. According to NFL senior vice president of football & international communications Michael Signora, while James Thrash, the hearing officer jointly appointed to the case by the NFL and the NFL Players Association, upheld Kazee’s suspension for the remainder of the regular season, he also ruled that Kazee would be eligible to return to the active roster if the Steelers were to qualify for the postseason. If Pittsburgh fails to make the playoffs, then we have seen the last of Kazee in the 2023 NFL season.
DECEMBER 18: The Steelers will be without Damontae Kazee for the rest of the 2023 campaign, regardless of if the team makes it to the playoffs. The veteran safety has been suspended for the remainder of the year, as noted by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Kazee was ejected for a hit on Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr. on Saturday. Pittman is now in concussion protocol after Kazee’s most recent hit which was penalized for unnecessary roughness. The 30-year-old’s history in that department was noted in the press release detailing the suspension, and his second season with the Steelers is now set to come to a premature end.
Kazee could appeal the ban, one which will see him miss games against the Bengals, Seahawks and Ravens. Having lost three straight games, the Steelers are in a much worse position for the playoffs than they were recently. Pittsburgh could still manage to secure a wild-card berth, though, in which case Kazee’s absence would be acutely felt.
The former Falcons fifth-rounder has seen a much larger workload in 2023 than last season. Kazee’s defensive snap share (81%) is the third-highest of his career, and he has been a productive player on the backend. The San Diego State product has posted 61 tackles, two interceptions, three pass deflections and two fumble recoveries this year. Especially with Minkah Fitzpatrick set to miss at least Week 16, Kazee’s loss will deal a blow to Pittsburgh’s secondary.
Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reports that Kazee will indeed appeal the suspension. Regardless of how much time he misses, he has already lost over $267K in fines overt the course of the season, a figure which will increase unless the ban is rescinded altogether. A best-case scenario for Kazee and the Steelers, realistically, would involve the suspension being reduced to a degree.
Broncos safety Kareem Jackson managed to appeal a four-game suspension down to two earlier in the season, but he has since been hit with another four-game ban. This marks Kazee’s first suspension of the season, but his accumulation of discipline from the league (which includes five fines for unnecessary roughness) will no doubt be a factor in the appeals process. While it will interesting to see if he manages to see the field again in 2023, Kazee figures to be out of the lineup for the time being.
While the Steelers will continue to deal with a number of defenders being on injured reserve, they are set to return a leader on that side of the ball in safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Fitzpatrick is set to appear in his first game in four weeks this Sunday against the Cardinals. 
Fitzpatrick had to make his exit early into the team’s loss to the Jaguars back in October with a hamstring injury. Pittsburgh didn’t think they would need to place its veteran safety on IR, hoping to see him return sooner rather than later, but after four weeks without their vocal leader, gaining an extra roster spot by placing him on IR would’ve been the preferred move in retrospect.
The extended absence is the first of Fitzpatrick’s storied career. In the five and a half seasons until this absence, Fitzpatrick has appeared in 86 of a possible 89 games, starting in 81. Fitpatrick had never missed consecutive games either, with the three absences being one-game situations. Even when the former Dolphin was traded two weeks into the season from Miami, he was in black and yellow six days later without missing a snap.
In Fitzpatrick’s first multi-game absence, the team had to promote practice squad safety Trenton Thompson to the active roster. Keanu Neal and Elijah Riley were filling in the first few weeks before finding their way to IR. Thompson has performed well for being thrown into the fire, but the Steelers will be excited to return Fitzpatrick next to strong safety Damontae Kazee this weekend.
Damontae Kazee is staying in Pittsburgh. The free agent safety is re-signing with the Steelers, according to Matt Lombardo of Heavy (via Twitter).
Kazee joined the Steelers last offseason on a one-year deal. A broken forearm (coupled with a three-game suspension) delayed his start to the season, but he still managed to get in nine games for his new squad. When all was said and done, the safety finished his first season in Pittsburgh with two interceptions and two passes defended.
The former fifth-round pick led the NFL with seven interceptions during the 2018 season. He was limited to only four games during his final season with the Falcons before joining the Cowboys in 2021. He started 15 of his 17 games for Dallas that season but still had to settle for a one-year deal from Pittsburgh last offseason.
Kazee will provide Pittsburgh’s secondary with some consistency in 2023. With Cameron Sutton gone, the team will be counting on free agent acquisition Patrick Peterson to fill a major void.
The Steelers are up a defender but down a key special teamer. The team announced that they’ve activated safety Damontae Kazee from IR and placed kicker Chris Boswell on injured reserve.
Kazee inked a one-year, $1.19MM deal with the Steelers back in May after having spent the 2021 season in Dallas. The 29-year-old suffered a broken arm and dislocated wrist towards the end of the preseason, landing him on IR after 53-man rosters were set. Kazee returned to practice in October.
Kazee has plenty of starting experience, starting 15 games for the Cowboys in 2021 and 34 games for the Falcons between 2017 and 2020. The veteran will serve as an experienced option behind Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds.
“At the end of the day we have to make plays, get turnovers, give our offense another opportunity to go score some points,” Kazee said (via the team’s website). “We just have to trust our keys. Trust everything the coaches are giving us. Execute the plays. At the end of the day, they can call out any play. We just have to execute it. That’s what we need to do more.
“We just have to work together. We’ve got to be brothers. You just have to do your job so your brother can do his. Everybody’s job is important. Make sure we do what we have to do, execute the plays and come out with a win.”
Boswell missed Week 8 with a groin injury, and despite getting an extra week of rest with the bye, he’ll now be sidelined for at least the next four games. The veteran kicker has connected on 12 of his 16 field goal attempts and all nine of his extra point tries this season. Nick Sciba filled in for Boswell in Week 8, but the Steelers recently signed Matthew Wright off the Chiefs practice squad to fill in for Boswell going forward.