Eric LeGrand Tells TMZ He Reached Out to Ryan Shazier

Former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed from the neck down when he attempted to make a tackle in a 2010 game against Army, told TMZ Sports on Sunday he recently reached out to Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier.   

"My message to him is just to stay strong, keep the faith, keep on believing and the biggest thing is you got to keep on working hard no matter what the doctors may tell you. Continue to work hard and you never know what might come out of this. Every spinal cord injury is different, but you got to always believe. That's the main thing." 

Shazier, 25, left the Steelers' Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a serious back injury and was hospitalized. 

Two days after he was carted off the field, Shazier underwent spinal stabilization surgery. 

He has since been at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center recovering. 

The last official update on Shazier's status came Dec. 14, when UPMC tweeted he remained hospitalized and had "started physical rehabilitation as part of his recovery process." 

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Chris Adamski, Shazier paid a visit to the Steelers practice facility in a wheelchair on Saturday. 

Shazier was also in attendance at Heinz Field in Week 15 when he watched the Steelers' 27-24 loss to the New England Patriots from a private box.