Colts receiver Michael Pittman was cleared from concussion protocol on Friday, six days after Steelers safety Damontae Kazee laid him out with an illegal hit.
The Colts list Pittman as questionable to play Sunday with a shoulder injury, but it was the brain injury that scared his family to tears. Pittman, though, said he had no concussion symptoms during the week after being knocked out by Kazee.
“It’s by the pure grace of God that I was able to get up and walk,” Pittman said, via Nate Atkins of the Indianapolis Star. “That was a scary hit. Going through my head at the point was nothing. I wasn’t thinking nothing. I didn’t know where I was at.”
The league suspended Kazee for the rest of the season for repeated violations of player health and safety rules. The NFL had fined Kazee five times before the hit on Pittman.
“I do think that they were head-hunting, but I don’t think he meant to impose life-changing injury,” Pittman said. “I don’t think any player has that in them. You never want to see guys lose games and lose that much money. I don’t think he was trying to do that. He has a family, too. I know that’s a hefty fine. He’s going to miss out on a lot of money that he was counting on. So you never want to see that.”
Pittman has 99 catches for 1,062 yards and four touchdowns this season, with a chance to set career highs.
