Thoughts of LB Shazier weighed on Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — It wasn’t so much a conscious decision Vince Williams made to wear teammate Ryan Shazier’s jersey during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practices this past week. And there wasn’t anyone who compelled him to do it, either.

For Williams, donning the No. 50 of his close friend while he’s in the hospital with a spinal injury just felt right.

“I didn’t really think nothing of it,” said the veteran inside linebacker, who has started all 12 games this season next to Shazier in the middle of the Steelers’ defense. “I didn’t really make a big deal out of it. … Nobody even commented on it. I just saw (Shazier’s practice jersey) over there, and I put it on.

“I knew I was going to be calling the signals, so I just felt like (the defense) had been seeing ‘50’ in front of the huddle for so long, it would just be familiar to everybody.”

Williams has taken over the defensive play-calling duties for the Steelers in Shazier’s stead, but the past few days have felt anything but familiar to players who had to watch Shazier be carted off the field and taken by ambulance to a Cincinnati hospital early during last Monday night’s win against the Bengals.

During a short week of preparation for another division rival, Baltimore, the Steelers had thoughts of Shazier weighing on them. He underwent spinal stabilization surgery Wednesday and remains in a Pittsburgh hospital recovering.

Arguably, when combining the personal and professional aspects of the situation, no player has had a more difficult week of adjustment than Williams. First and foremost was compartmentalizing thoughts and well-wishes for Shazier, his teammate and friend for four years.

“Honestly, as hard as it is, you’ve just got to focus on the mission at hand,” Williams said. “It’s a division game; it’s a chance for us to close out the division. So we’ve got to go out and do our jobs, really.”

Football-wise, Williams spent his week getting re-acclimated to calling out the signals for a full game, as well as getting a new partner at inside linebacker up and running with the position’s responsibilities. The left inside linebacker spot will be manned by a combination of Arthur Moats (an outside linebacker in four seasons with Pittsburgh) and Sean Spence (signed as a free agent Tuesday).

The fourth-longest continuously tenured player on the Steelers’ defense, Williams conceded “it’s going to be hard” to focus on football today. But he also recognizes the irony that while Shazier’s injury makes him realize football isn’t the most important thing, it also has made him appreciate the sport all the more.

“Everybody knows how much this game means to Ryan,” Williams said. “I can’t really say we are going to play for him, but there’s definitely a little added incentive because we understand that you can’t take this for granted.”