INDIANAPOLIS -- Kevin Colbert, the Steelers' general manager, said Wednesday what everyone had already guessed in regard to Ryan Shazier: He won't play in 2018.
Shazier, who suffered a spinal cord injury Dec. 4 at Cincinnati, has been rehabbing and making progress in his recovery with a stated goal of returning to the NFL and making the Pro Bowl again, but Colbert said the Steelers are moving forward with the idea they won't have the linebacker on the field.
"Ryan Shazier won't play in 2018," Colbert said. "He knows that. We know that."
Colbert said the Steelers will have to keep Shazier on their roster in 2018, though he will likely do so on injured reserve. His salary of $8.7 million was locked in as fully guaranteed when the Steelers picked up the option on his rookie contract last offseason.
The Steelers, like other teams, are in Indianapolis this week at the annual NFL Scouting Combine looking at potential picks for the upcoming draft, which will be held in April. Pittsburgh also could use free agency to acquire a long-term replacement for the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker.
"We’re going to continue to support him in his recovery," Colbert said of Shazier. "We know that going into this season he won’t play, and he’ll end up on a different type of list once we get a determination from the league as to where he’ll end up. We know that’s a challenge, because we’ll be at 89 players, but fortunately for Ryan he’s covered in that manner, that he will be part of our team officially and also unofficially, because he’s still with us day-to-day as he rehabs. He involves himself with the team and team issues so that he can be a formidable member in 2018."
That has already begun, as Colbert said last week. Shazier goes to the Rooney Sports Complex on a daily basis and works out, then meets with the coaching or front office staff.
"It's all been part of trying to keep things normal for him, but it also helps the Steelers, as well," Colbert said. "Not only do they get a player's perspective on the team and potential replacements, they get to be around Shazier, who has stayed positive throughout the recovery and rehab process."
"Even though he won't be on the field, he'll be a huge part of the team in 2018. Along those lines, the emotional support that we give him, he gives us 100 times back. We're just looking forward to keep pushing and him pushing and getting better. There's no ceiling on how far his recovery can go because nobody knows, including the experts and himself."
That puts Shazier in a strange position of perhaps helping the team evaluate players who could potentially be someone he plays next to down the road, or, at the very least, will replace him.
Colbert said, as the team has done in the past, it's likely the Steelers won't just bring in one player to be a potential replacement, just as they did last year when they needed a cornerback and brought in both Cameron Sutton and Brian Allen in the draft while signing Coty Sensabaugh in free agency.
"When you have some holes to fill, you probably want to put more than one person in the mix," Colbert said. "We'll try to do that, either in free agency and the draft or the draft exclusively, just because you have some salary cap issues that will limit that."
Doubling down at the inside linebacker position in the draft could be a necessity to find a player with Shazier's talents. Despite missing the final four games of the season, he finished with 89 tackles, one off the team lead, while tying for the lead in interceptions with three and finishing second with 11 passes defensed.
Finding another inside linebacker who can run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash while also being impactful at the line of scrimmage won't be easy.
"There's a few impactful players, not a lot," Colbert said of the inside linebackers available in the draft. "There are some numbers at that positions. Guys may have one talent, they're good in space, against the run or run-and-chase players. There's a lot of guys that have individual talents that we'll have to sort through. But impactful players? No. It's one of the leaner positions."
That means it's likely the Steelers do sign an inside linebacker in free agency and also add one in the draft. Former Steelers star Lawrence Timmons is expected to be released by Miami in a salary cap-related move and re-signing the 31-year-old would seem to make sense as someone to fill in until a young linebacker is ready to step into the lineup.
But expecting to find another Shazier in the draft? Colbert knows that might not be possible.
"To put anybody in Ryan's category, I think, is unfair to both Ryan and the potential player," Colbert said. "The potential player may see himself as better in the long term. But Ryan was a unique talent and he did special things for us. He's going to work to try to get back and do more."
