.In response to Steelers safety Damontae Kazee‘s suspension for hitting Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., Tom Brady has made an unexpected comment.
Given that the former quarterback has previously emphasized that quarterbacks are mostly to blame for the receiver injuries that have been occurring, maybe this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.
The NFL decided that Kazee’s tackle, which caused the wideout to get a concussion, was against its health and safety policies, hence he will miss the remainder of the season. Following the collision, the defensive back was called for a penalty right away and was later dismissed from the game. Brady said,
“Nobody likes seeing players get hurt. But hard hits happen. QBs should not be throwing the ball in areas where they are exposing their own teammates to these types of hits,” he wrote as a comment on SportsCenter’s Instagram post relaying the news of the suspension.
“Coaches need to coach better, QBs needs to read coverages and throw the ball to the right places and defenders should aim for the right hitting areas. To put the blame on the [defensive] player all the time is just flat-out wrong. Need better QB play!! It’s not OK QBs to get your WRs hit because of your bad decisions!”
Tom Brady on Damontae Kazee’s suspension:
“To put the blame on the defensive player all the time is just flat out wrong. … It’s not OK QBs to get your WRs hit because of your bad decisions!” https://t.co/1NS5iExWZ8 pic.twitter.com/xz20vUwB2u
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 18, 2023
J.J. Watt supported Tom Brady on his point
With a prayer hands emoji, former defensive standout J.J. Watt supported the seven-time Super Bowl victor on this point. In a conversation with Stephen A. Smith just a month ago, Brady asserted that he never played with his receivers’ safety in mind and avoided placing the ball in situations where they would be struck.
“Offensive players need to protect themselves. It’s not up to the defensive player to protect the offensive player,” he said. “The defensive player needs to protect himself. I didn’t throw the ball to certain areas because I was afraid players were going to get knocked out. That’s the reality. I didn’t throw it to the middle when I played Ray Lewis, because he’d knock [the receiver] out of the game, and I couldn’t afford to lose a good player.”
In the meanwhile, Minshew acknowledges responsibility for Pittman’s harm.
“Yeah, it’s never ideal. You don’t want that,” he lamented. “I don’t think there’s any malicious intent or anything.. think that’s sometimes how the game goes. I wish I wouldn’t have put Pitt in that position, honestly. So you always try to do your best to protect your guys, but there’s sometimes where unfortunately things just happen in the game.”