We have been a bit spoiled lately. We have recently gotten multiple opportunity to hear from both Pittsburgh Steelers Owner and President Art Rooney II and General Manager Kevin Colbert, each of whom spoke at length about a variety of topics pertaining to the Steelers that are near and dear to the hearts of fans.
We have tried to cover as many of those topics as we can to keep the information flowing, though it tends to get overwhelming when it comes in rapid succession, so we did not talk about Colbert’s comments yet on Ryan Shazier, whom Rooney has already previously said will in some form or fashion have a role with the team in 2018.
Shazier, who suffered a severe spinal injury on the field in the middle of the 2017 season, is under contract for 2017 for over $8 million in guaranteed salary for injury, so he will be on the books regardless of his role is, but the Steelers want to keep him close regardless as he continues his road to recovery.
“Ryan does as much for us as we do for him”, Colbert said of the 2014 first-round draft pick, “because of the way he works at this”. He went on to say that “the attitude that he has shown in his rehabilitation is really uplifting”, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“I know that’s an uplifting gesture for us and those who deal with him”, the general manager said of Shazier’s presence in the facilities. “He shows us everybody has problems but he’s going to work to overcome his as we should ours”.
Colbert told reporters that the linebacker is “here on a daily basis”, participating in some physical rehabilitation workouts, “and he either sits in with the coaches or he sits in with us”, presumably referring to the front office.
“He’s learning some personnel stuff, just to keep him involved with us, then he goes and does his rehab at a rehab facility”, he went on. While he talked about the diligence with which Shazier has gone about his rehabilitation process, he also talked about the role that his being involved with the team plays as well.
“We’ve enabled him”, he said, to “be a part of the football part of it because we think it’s important for him to still have that in front of him”.
Whether or not Shazier is ever able to walk again is unknown. He has recently become an outpatient as he continues his next step in recovery, participating in a ‘walking routine’ that will hopefully allow him someday to walk again on his own.
