For the past two years, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ryan Shazier have had a complicated relationship. Shazier’s injury he suffered in December of 2017 has kept him off the field ever since and everyone continues to wait and see if Shazier will ever be able to play again. But in the meantime, the Steelers plan to keep Shazier around for as long as necessary in some capacity.
Steelers president Art Rooney II spoke to the media last week and was very positive about the scenarios that would keep Shazier back in the fold. “We’re never going to take that away from Ryan,” Colbert said. “We have always told him we’ll never put a ceiling on it.”
Last season, Shazier’s contract did not toll, meaning the team was able to count a reduced amount of his veteran minimum salary against the salary cap. This season, according to Rooney, Shazier’s contract will toll, meaning the full value of a veteran minimum contract — $820,000 — would count against the salary cap.
Rooney also made it seem like Pittsburgh was in no rush to make any big decisions about Shazier’s future until he is ready “When Ryan becomes healthy enough to play this game, which is his goal, we’ll make that decision and he’ll make that decision at that point, and we’ll respect it either way it goes.”
