It’s been nearly two full years since Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Sean Spence tore up his knee in the 2012 preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers, but is comeback is now officially complete as he started Saturday night and played quite a few snaps in the preseason opening loss to the New York Giants.
“Man, it felt to great to get back out there with the guys,” Spence told Craig Wolfley of the Steelers Radio Network after the game. “Made some plays, but I want to go back and watch the film and see the things I messed up on and correct them.”
It was indeed an emotional night for the Steelers former third round draft pick, who admitted that the magnitude of what he was accomplishing got to him prior to the opening kickoff.
“Even before the National Anthem, I couldn’t hold my tears back,” Spence told Wolfley. “I had my helmet on trying to hide, but I couldn’t hold it. It was just a great feeling just be back out here with the team in a game atmosphere. God is good.”
Spence got the start because rookie first-round draft pick Ryan Shazier was unable to make his NFL debut because of a knee or leg injury. The Miami product finished the game with three total tackles and looked as if he hadn’t lost that quick first step of his in the process.
“I’m glad it’s done. One down, three more to go,” he said.
By the looks of things, Spence has a lot more than just three games to go. He’s back.
