Steelers LB Ryan Shazier Won’t Play In 2018

Linebacker Ryan Shazier will not play football in 2018, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert told reporters at the NFL combine. Colbert stressed that Shazier will continue to be a valuable member of the team and noted that he is “covered” contractually. Ryan Shazier (Vertical)

Shazier suffered a scary spinal injury while making a tackle against the Bengals on Dec. 4. The news on Shazier’s overall recovery has been promising, but it’s still unclear as to whether he’ll be able to return to football at some point. For his part, Shazier says he wants to play again.

“I got to get back,” Shazier said recently. “Right now I’m reading a book and it’s basically saying trust the process. I’m really trusting the process. I know the end goal. So I’m taking every step of the way, I’m giving everything I got. The therapists are like, ‘Man this is crazy; I’ve never seen anyone work this hard.’ They almost see progression every day.” 

Shazier, 25, tallied 68 tackles and 11 pass defenses before the injury and earned a Pro Bowl selection despite playing in only 12 games. Prior to that, he logged 55 tackles in each of the previous two seasons.

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