Getty Damontae Kazee #27 of the Atlanta Falcons.
For their Week 10 matchup, the Atlanta Falcons are tasked with taking on a dangerous Dallas Cowboys team. This also means they’ll be seeing some familiar faces in former head coach Dan Quinn and teammates Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal.
Inevitably, the past was brought up during media press conferences this week and Kazee was very open about his abrupt ending in Atlanta.
“The only thing I remember in Atlanta is me getting hurt and me getting kicked out of rehab,” Kazee said via the Dallas Cowboys media on Wednesday, November 10. “That is all I remember.”
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Kazee’s 2020 Season Was Cut Short
Kazee suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Week 4 of the 2020 season and was working his way back from the injury when he was released.
“They let me go,” Kazee said. “They told me I can’t do rehab up there no more. It surprised me because I thought I was going to finish my rehab up there. But it is what it is. The GM said to leave. So, I got my stuff and left.”
Kazee initially joined the Falcons in 2017 as a fifth-round pick out of San Diego State. Over the course of 52 games and 34 starts he tallied 199 tackles (137 solo), with 13 passes defensed and five forced fumbles. His most notable season came in 2018, when he recorded 82 tackles and had seven interceptions, which was tied for the most interceptions in the NFL that year (Xavien Howard, Kyle Fuller).
While there was no happy ending for Kazee in Atlanta, he claims there’s no grudge he’ll be taking out on the field with him on Sunday.
“Nah, nah,” Kazee said. “On to the next. Can’t get mad. That is life. This is a business at the end of the day.”
Quinn has also moved on from Atlanta.
“This is my team,” he said of the Cowboys during Tuesday’s press conference. This is who I’m with. And this is my crew. I will always think of the memories, but I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
This Story Sounds Familiar
Former Falcons’ backup QB Kurt Benkert also opened up about how the Falcons handled his release earlier this season.
Benkert spent his rookie season on the Falcons practice squad and landed on the injured reserve the following year. He came back ready to compete in 2020, but COVID-19 canceled the league’s preseason, so he didn’t get a chance to showcase his talents.
Still, he really thought he had a shot to make the team’s final roster following an outstanding offseason at camp and all of the hard work he had put in, but that wasn’t the case.
In an interview this offseason with Tyler Dunne of Go Long, Benkert opened up about his struggles in the NFL, specifically his time in Atlanta under former general manager Thomas Dimitroff and when the new regime released him:
“I’ve worked my ass off. When it comes down to it, I work really hard in football and give it everything I have and am always prepared. I think last year with Covid really opened my eyes. I had the best camp I could possibly have. I was balling. Making plays. I was like, ‘There’s no way in hell they cut me and put me on the practice squad.’ I was like, ‘I can’t be cut. There’s no way.’ And I go into the meeting with the GM (Dimitroff) and he’s like, ‘You did everything we asked you to do. You could not have played better. We’re lucky we don’t have a preseason because we can hide you and stash you on the practice squad.’ I was like, ‘S—. OK.’ That’s the reality of the business. That was a tough pill to swallow but, at the same time, it gave me so much freedom and took such a weight off my shoulders, that I can control everything I can and they still can’t keep me on the team. That’s just part of being an undrafted guy. Until you step a foot on the field in the game, and people have to see it, they’re not worried about somebody stealing you.
When the new general manager Terry Fontenot took over, it wasn’t long until he made the call to Benkert and released him. It was the first and last the two spoke.
However, a simple text from one of the best players in the business kept his head above water:
“They did look after me in different ways and stuff. That was a tough reality of the business for me. As soon as I got cut, before you’re put on practice squad, you have 24 hours. You’re not allowed in the building. You’re not allowed to have your playbook. You’re a free agent for a day. The first text I got within 20 minutes was Julio (Jones). It’s cool to see guys like that recognize how I played—behind the scenes—that nobody would really know. They make it a little easier to swallow to say, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. When you get your chance, you’ll be fine. But they have the leverage right now.’ That was a good Welcome to the NFL moment three years in. I’ll definitely remember that one.”
Benkert added that Jones told him via text, “Don’t let them change how you play your game. You’re doing well. It will work out when you get your opportunity.”
Since being released from Atlanta, Benkert has been thriving as a backup in Green Bay behind Aaron Rodgers. While he has yet to play in a regular-season game, he seems happier and the fans adore him.
Kazee also appears to be where he needs to be under a thriving Cowboys team.
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