Ryan Shazier joins Roosevelt Nix on podcast and talks about his current status

Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers have been longing to hear from injured linebacker Ryan Shazier ever since he injured his back vs. the Bengals on Monday Night Football. He finally spoke publicly on Thursday when he sat down with teammate Roosevelt Nix on Nix’s newest podcast.

You can check out the podcast below:

Shazier talks about everything from video games, college football and, of course, the latest update on his status. His goals haven’t changed, despite his injury.

“I got to get back,” Shazier said. “Right now I’m reading a book and it’s basically saying trust the process. I’m really trusting the process. I know the end goal. So I’m taking every step of the way, I’m giving everything I got. The therapists are like, ‘Man this is crazy; I’ve never seen anyone work this hard.’ They almost see progression every day.

“They say like some progressions they see week to week, they see from me day to day. I’m really trying to come back and still be a Pro Bowler. I’m sorry, because I feel I got snubbed this year for All-Pro even though I got hurt. But I feel like my stats are as good as those who made it.”

Shazier then spoke about his progress, and why he chose to stand during a Pittsburgh Penguins game.

“I really wanted to do that because I felt everybody needed to see that,’’ Shazier told Nix.

“At the end of the day, everybody saw the picture of me and Ben. I stood up. The thing is, in the picture, people were saying Ben supported me, too. He was barely even holding me. I was like I want to stand up so people can really see Ben ain’t just holding me up. This isn’t rigged.”

During the nearly 30-minute podcast, Shazier talked about his desire to continue playing, and not just play, but make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the news which stood out the most was his physical progress through his rehabilitation.

“I gained so much more appreciation for people with disabilities and in wheelchairs. You can be going up one incline, that’s so much harder.

“The thing that’s so funny is like when I do the littlest things, people don’t understand how much people appreciate this right now. Like the process of me trying to get my feeling back to stand up and all that. Everything I did, I appreciated every moment.”

If you don’t have the time to listen to the podcast, Shazier sounds to be in great spirits, and more determined than ever to get back on the football field.