The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Shazier: ‘My dream is to come back and play football’
Ryan Shazier’s routine hasn’t changed much, even after a life-altering spinal injury put his football career in jeopardy.
The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker still arrives at the team facility around 7 a.m. He still watches copious amounts of film. He still works out regularly, often with his teammates alongside. And he still believes one day he will run out of the Heinz Field tunnel in full uniform despite the many obstacles he understands are in his path.
“My dream is to come back and play football again,” Shazier said on Wednesday in his first wideranging public remarks since undergoing spine stabilization surgery last December. “I’m working my tail off every single day; have (playing again) in the back of my mind every single time I go to rehab.”
Shazier walked into the media room with help of a cane and spent 20 minutes outlining his journey since he lowered his head to hit Bengals wide receiver Josh Malone in the first quarter on Dec. 4. He called the moment after impact when he grabbed the small of his back while his legs lay motionless “a little scary,” but was quick to thank emergency responders in Cincinnati for their delicate work on the field in the immediate aftermath.
He underwent spine stabilization surgery on Dec. 6 and has spent the intervening months remaining adamant he would play again while being a fixture at the team’s practice facility, where he has become a de facto coach. It’s a role he’s embracing, but one he’s not quite ready to accept on a full-time basis.
“Just because I got hurt doesn’t mean I’m going to stop loving the game of football,” said Shazier, who added that despite the injury he’s going to give it “everything I have” in an effort to return to play.
Details of the exact nature of Shazier’s injury and his long-term prognosis remain sparse. He declined to get into specifics about whether playing again is even medically feasible, saying his medical team has told him to focus on making incremental improvements.
“Every day I take it one day at a time. The further we get along in rehab, the better they can give me answers.”
Shazier has made remarkable progress in the past six months.