Steelers place Ryan Shazier on the Reserved/Retired List in 2020

Although it has been several years since Ryan Shazier’s injury on Monday Night Football in Cincinnati. Since then the Pittsburgh Steelers have stuck by their former No. 1 draft pick by keeping him within the organization and putting him on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List every year.

But as the 2020 season was scheduled to begin, the team had to make a decision on Shazier. He was set to become a free agent, and there was no doubt the Steelers wanted to keep Shazier within the organization, but how they would do that wasn’t clear cut.

Shazier has openly stated his goal was always to return to the field as a player. It is what drives him in his rehabilitation, but the Steelers have to function as a business and make the best decision not just for themselves, but also for the organization.

On Tuesday, the team placed Shazier on the Reserve/Retired List.

“Ryan’s placement on the Reserve/Retired List serves as a matter of protocol to ensure his continued inclusion within our organization moving forward in his professional career,” General Manager/Vice President Kevin Colbert told Steelers.com.

What does this mean for Shazier? Here is a description of the Reserved/Retired list according to overthecap.com:

Reserve/Retired– The retired list is what players are placed upon if they choose to retire rather than honor their contracts. This is more procedural than anything else. The player does not count towards the roster nor do they carry any cap charges as contracts are treated just as if the player was cut for salary cap purposes with prorated bonus money accelerating and being included as “dead money”. Teams do maintain the rights to players on the retired list.

Shazier deciding to go this way keeps him within the Steelers organization, helps him further his career in a new capacity, and hopefully helps him continue to rehabilitate himself back to everyday life.

In the meantime, Shazier is just one of many loose ends the Steelers have to take care of if they want to be buyers in NFL Free Agency. A lot has been done thus far, and plenty more will be taking place, so stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news surrounding the Steelers.