Steelers legend Ryan Shazier says he’d play tomorrow if he were healthy

Ryan Shazier has never lost his passion for playing football.

Back on December 4 of 2017, then Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier saw his career end on a freak spinal cord injury while making a tackle. Shazier’s comeback has been nothing short of inspirational even if he never got well enough to return to football.

But Shazier said that even after everything he went through if he were deemed healthy tomorrow, he would come back and play football. Shazier spoke in an interview and made it clear he would want to return to the Steelers.

“100 percent.” Shazier said, “If I could, right now, wake up tomorrow, and they say, ‘Hey Ryan, you’re 100 percent healthy,’ I would call coach (Mike) Tomlin.”

Shazier was a phenom for his short NFL career. His passion for the game and the ability he showed on the field put in a very small group of players. The fact that even now, after all of the trials and tribulations he’s been through to recover, Shazier would return to football if given the chance speaks volumes about him.

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Steelers futility at ILB illustrates just how special Ryan Shazier was

Will the Steelers ever find another Ryan Shazier?

When inside linebacker Ryan Shazier went down with his back injury in 2017, we could have never imagined just how difficult it would be to replace him. Steelers writer Chris Adamski shared this list of the players the Steelers have tried to replace Shazer with to no avail which brought it perfectly into focus just what a special player Shazier was and how lucky Pittsburgh was to have him.

This list is in addition to Devin Bush who the Steelers made a huge trade-up to get in the 2018 NFL draft. He never saw a second contract with Pittsburgh. Every year when the NFL draft comes around, we hope the Steelers will commit to a top inside linebacker, even after the failure of Bush.

This season, the Steelers have brought in three more potential replacements and we will go out on a limb and say none of them will be anything close to Shazier.

We don’t offer this as a criticism to the Steelers front office. It is more to illustrate just what a special player the Steelers had and how every player coming in will be held to that standard. When Shazier was drafted, the comparison that was made was to Lawrence Timmons and it took no time for Shazier to exceed expectations.

Shazier casts a huge shadow and it is probably time to move on from the hope that picking up castoffs in free agency will ever be that type of impact player and focus on building the rest of the defense to account for his loss. Then, maybe someday another generational player like Shazier will fall into the laps of the Steelers.

 

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Ryan Shazier on Von Miller trade: Aaron Donald and Von Miller on same D-line is ‘not fair’

Former Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier talks about the Rams trade to the Broncos for Von Miller.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier was speaking with Steelers Wire, promoting his new book “Walking Miracle,” when news of linebacker Von Miller’s trade broke.

In exchange for Miller, the Rams agreed to trade 2022 second- and third-round draft picks to the Broncos.

“The Rams do a good job of tricking everybody into the trades that they want,” Shazier said with a laugh.

A big trade by the Rams this offseason involved the acquisition of quarterback Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions.

Los Angeles and Detroit swapped quarterbacks Jared Goff for Stafford. The Lions also received two first-round draft picks (2022, 2023).

“They’re pretty much going all-in on winning the Super Bowl this year. I think they have the team to do it,” said Shazier. “Von is a playmaker and to have him and Aaron Donald on the same D-line is not fair. With Jalen Ramsey in the back — that’s a Pro Bowl team.”

Shazier is happy for Miller, especially knowing his new team gives him a legit shot at a Super Bowl.

“I think it’s awesome for Von,” he said. “Denver understands they have a young team, they’re not going to win the Super Bowl this year. With Von coming to the end of his career, I think the Broncos are trying to give him the respect of sending him to a team that’s good.”

“It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Shazier’s football career came to a sudden halt on a routine play versus the Bengals on Dec. 4, 2017. He suffered a devastating spinal cord injury which left him paralyzed. Today, he’s a walking miracle.

“Walking Miracle” will be available on November 30.

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Steelers LB Ryan Shazier emotionally announces his retirement

Ryan Shazier made an emotional speech on social media to announce his retirement from football.

Legendary Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier officially announced his retirement on Wednesday in an emotional video on social media.

“Football gave me everything I ever wanted and more … I’m here today to make sure the world knows how much I still love football. … Today I am officially retiring from the game I love so much.”

“When you play the game of football the way I did, you convince yourself you’re Superman. That nothing can stop you, but then the moment I got hurt, I stopped being Superman.”

In 46 games, the two-time Pro Bowler amassed 300 tackles (24 for loss), 18 quarterback hits, seven sacks, seven forced fumbles and seven interceptions.

Shazier, the Steelers 2014 first-round draft pick out of Ohio State, had a tremendous career cut short in one devastating and life-altering moment.

On Dec. 4, 2017, Shazier suffered a spinal cord during a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. On Cincinnati’s first possession of the game, after a tackle on a Bengals receiver, Shazier went to the ground clutching his back. What looked to be a standard football tackle became anything but when Shazier laid motionless on the field.

After several minutes of being attended to by medical staff, Shazier was carted off the field on a backboard and taken to a Cincinnati hospital. There began the process of a lengthy journey back to health.

On Jan. 4, 2018, Shazier’s father shared that his son had regained feeling in his legs. According to Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Shazier had been told by doctors that he had less than a 20 percent chance to walk again.

Shazier took that as a challenge and persevered. Just three months later, he walked for the first time in public to announce the Steelers first-round draft selection — where his name had been called four years earlier.

That summer, Shazier made an appearance at the Steelers annual Friday Night Lights practice and was able to walk unassisted onto the field.

Shazier fought a brave and enduring battle toward recovery. There were even moments when Steelers Nation thought he might return to the game.

“My dream is to come back and play football again,” Shazier said in a June 2018 press conference. “I’ve been working my tail off every day, and I have that in the back of my mind every day I go to rehab.”

Shazier made an inspirational return to Paul Brown Stadium, the scene where the injury occurred a year earlier, and could often be found on the sidelines coaching linebackers. The team stood by Shazier and, despite the odds of a return, kept him under contract the past two seasons.

In March, the Steelers announced Shazier had been placed on the reserve/retired list, ultimately ending his playing career.

Last week, the Steelers former linebacker said he was taking his life in a different direction. Shazier would no longer be part of the Steelers organization in an official capacity.

Ryan Shazier was the epitome of a Steelers linebacker, and his contributions as a player, coach and mentor will never be forgotten. Superman he was, and always will be, for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Steelers Wire wishes Ryan all the best in whatever the future brings!

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