The Steelers' new linebacker, Jon Bostic, knows what the expectations will be for him -- at least for the next few months. He knows people will say he was brought in to help the team replace Ryan Shazier.
But Bostic, who passed his physical Monday after agreeing to terms on a two-year deal with the team Sunday, also knows replacing a two-time Pro Bowl player with the unique ability of Shazier isn't possible.
He just wants to be part of the equation for the Steelers.
"I would never say replace. He is a special player,” the 26-year-old Bostic said. “I am sure he is going to be back at some point. All I am supposed to do is come in here and work hard. Whatever they ask me to do, I am going to do it, at whatever position it is. I have a lot of versatility. I can do a lot of different things. Whatever they ask me to do, I am going to do it.”
Working hard has never been an issue for Bostic, a second-round draft pick by Chicago out of Florida in 2013. Staying healthy has been his biggest issue.
A back issue he attributed to an alignment problem derailed him with the Bears, who traded him to New England for a sixth-round draft pick in 2015. The Patriots then dealt him to Detroit in 2016 for a seventh-round draft pick. But he missed the entire 2016 season with a foot injury. Then, after signing a one-year deal with Indianapolis last season and appearing in 14 games, his most since his rookie season, he suffered a knee injury in December that landed him on injured reserve for the final two weeks of the season.
Bostic said the knee injury didn't require surgery and he's been running and cutting. Now, he wants to prove those injury issues are behind him so he can get back to doing what he does best.
Which is?
“My dad didn’t want me to play. He wanted me to play baseball,” said Bostic, whose father, John, was a defensive back for the Lions in the 1980s. “I had a thing for running into people full speed. I ran away with it. It’s something I have always loved to do. My mom signed me up, I don’t know if he would have. I liked baseball, but I really loved football."
Bostic ran really hard into people 97 times in 2017, also recording three pass breakups, a sack and a fumble recovery. They aren't quite Shazier-like numbers. But they will certainly help.
And, by the way, one of the players Bostic beat out for a starting job in Indianapolis last season was Sean Spence, the player the Steelers signed off the street to replace Shazier after he suffered a spinal cord injury Dec. 4 at Cincinnati.
Vince Williams, his new teammate and the player whom he will presumably line up next to at inside linebacker in 2018, welcomed him to the the team Sunday night:
We just got better ?
— Vince Williams (@VinnyVidiVici98) March 18, 2018
Bostic got experience playing inside linebacker in Indianapolis' 3-4 defense last season, so he has a good idea of his responsibilities at that spot for the Steelers. He also made Indianapolis' defensive play calls, as did Shazier for the Steelers.
“I have done that my whole career, going back to little league,” Bostic said. “That is nothing new for me. If they ask me to do that, hey. That is something I can definitely do. I just haven’t had the chance to show it off. They don’t have anything here set where this is how we do things. At the end of the day, they're going to see what you do well and put you in position to succeed.”
