Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier shows up every day, rehabbing from his spine injury at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Never once has Shazier thrown a pity party, according to General Manager Kevin Colbert.
“Never once has he said ‘Why me?’ ” Colbert said, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I know that’s an uplifting gesture for us and those who deal with him. He shows us everybody has problems, but he’s going to work to overcome his as we should ours.”
Shazier was seriously injured December 4 while making a tackle in Cincinnati, requiring spine stabilization surgery.
“Ryan works extremely hard at his rehab, so from a physical standpoint he’s continuing to work to overcome this injury,” Colbert said. “But what we’ve enabled him to do is also be part of the football part of it, because we think it’s important for him to still have that in front of him.
“. . . But the great thing about it is, Ryan does as much for us as we do for him, because of the way he works at this and the attitude that he has shown in his rehabilitation is really uplifting.”
Shazier is guaranteed his salary of $8.5 million in 2018, whether he plays or not, after signing his fifth-year option.