Vernon Shazier, the father of injured Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, told WPXI’s Lisa Sylvester that his son has regained feeling in his legs and believes Shazier will play football again in the future (h/t Adam Bittner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).
"He's making progress daily," Vernon said. "He's a long way from where he was on that Monday night."
"He's much better," he added (h/t Lauren Kirschman of PennLive.com), "but we've agreed to keep his progress private until he's ready to share where he's at."
Shazier, 25, had spinal stabilization surgery on Dec. 6 after suffering the injury against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 4. He had to be stretchered off the field and was unable to move his legs at the time.
I'm really happy for the guy that he is getting better and I wish him all the best. I don't think the thought of playing football again should even be considered yet, though. Worry about walking and living a decent life for now and see where that leads. If I am a parent of a young guy like this, I'm not making any statement like that. I get that his dad is likely showing confidence in him and all that but that can be done without looking too far ahead.
Yeah, well... Dr. Dad should think about him walking again first. I guarantee that's just what he's hoping, and not what any doctor has told him. Doctor's would not jump all the way from a kid who does not have feeling in his legs, to saying "Yeah, he'll play the most dangerous sport in the world again!".
25 years old. He's basically a kid. Get him back on his feet. Then, get him running. Then, MAYBE... think about that big leap to taking hits again.
Glad to hear he is making progress. Even if he can play, not sure the risk would be worth it. Maybe he could become an analyst if playing in the NFL doesn't work out!