Legendary Steelers LB Ryan Shazier On His Hope To Return To The Gridiron After His Crushing Injury And How He Finds The Grit To Battle His Internal Monsters

Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, Ryan Shazier suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury on the field in December 2017. This was only four seasons into what was looking like a Hall of Fame career. Shazier, always a fighter, made a remarkable recovery and was able to walk down the aisle to marry his fiancée only 17 months after the injury. While most assumed Shazier would never play another down of football, that wasn't easy for him to accept. 

Recently, Shazier appeared on the podcast, Footbahlin' With Ben Roethlisberger, which is hosted by his former teammate, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. During the show, Shazier spoke about his injury, how he stayed optimistic and his feelings about not being able to return to football. 

Pittsburgh Steelers' Ryan Shazier Battles His Monsters

Shazier was injured making a tackle during a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati. He said he felt a burning sensation in his back, with no pain, but was unable to move. He was quickly carted off the field and transferred to a hospital that could handle his level of trauma. 

Shazier said he never lost hope, he knew in his heart he would walk again and make a recovery, but wasn't sure if that recovery would be 100%. Now, for the first time, Shazier says he has turned to therapy to help him cope with his ordeal. Roethlisberger applauded the bravery it takes to admit you need help, especially as a man.

"Today was my first day of actually going to therapy since my injury. I used to go to a sports psychologist at Ohio State, so I know how important therapy is, but for some odd reason, I just never thought to do it. I leaned on my family and friends."

He said while his family and friends were incredibly supportive, they were the ones who suggested he seek a professional. They shared with him that they did not feel equipped to help him navigate all of his feelings. He said he has always just been such a positive person, he didn't think he needed it. 

"I ended up going to a therapist today because I do have stuff that bothers me. One thing I am big on is personal growth and I feel like I have some monsters that are inside of me that's not allowing me to reach my full potential, like I was with football. I think it's very important that I talk to a therapist because I tell people all the time I moved on from football, but I'm never gonna forget what happened."

Shazier says that one of the "monsters" he battles is the fact that he didn't have real closure with his forced retirement.  

"Other guys get retired and they get to play longer or they get to have another shot. If you tear your ACL, you get to go back out there and at least see if you're good enough. The thing that really hurts me, still to this day, is I never got to really step back onto the football field and actually try." 

Roethlisberger applauds him for getting help with this. He said as a team they knew that Shazier's goal for the longest time was to return and asks him at what point did he realize he wasn't going to be able to and what was that like?

"The day I actually retired was the day it actually hit me. I was thinking about it before and I kept trying and I was getting to the point where I was very close, but it was just certain movements I couldn't do. I could see even if I got close to where I was, I was not going to be able to reach back to where I was at - the explosiveness, the movement. If I was going to play football again, I can't imagine myself going out there and putting out a product that I can't see myself being."     

The thought of how close he needed to get to his full abilities was constantly on his mind. Roethlisberger asked him if he had been at 70% of where he was before would he have tried to return? He points out that Shazier at 75% is still better than most linebackers in the NFL.

"I remember Coach Tomlin told me before, 'Hey, we'll take the 85% Ryan.' That would have been tough I think. I would have went out there and people are constantly passing me up, and I'm trying my hardest. If that's the case then yeah, it's time to call it quits. I tell dudes that are injured, that are thinking about what they want to do - you gotta understand when it comes to football, you're always being evaluated. So the moment you look any different than you want to look, people are not looking at Ryan you're hurt, they are looking at, 'You just dropped the pick' or 'You didn't make that tackle.' And it goes from Ryan was one of the greatest players, to we need to get this dude off the field."

Shazier remained a member of the Steelers team on the injured reserve list, until he announced his retirement in September 2020.

Are you surprised that Shazier is just now receiving therapy? How much of a recovery, like Shazier's, do you believe hinges on the person's emotional state? Click to comment below. 

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