Steelers Owner: Ryan Shazier Making 'Amazing Progress' in Spinal Injury Recovery

Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II said linebacker Ryan Shazier is making "amazing progress" in his recovery from spinal surgery.

"Almost every week, he’s doing something he wasn't doing the week before," Rooney said, per Joe Rutter of TribLive. "He's a remarkable young man and an inspiration to everybody around here."

Rooney said the Steelers will re-sign Shazier this offseason so he can continue rehabbing with the team. He's currently slated to be an unrestricted free agent.

Rooney said last week that Shazier is rehabbing his back injury in hopes of continuing his football career. The 26-year-old underwent spinal surgery in December 2017 and beganlight jogging in November. 

"My dream is to come back and play football again," Shazier told reporters last year. "I've been working my tail off every single day, so I have that in the back of my mind every single time I go to rehab. I just try to stay positive every day, so I'm just trying to do everything I can to get back."

Shazier made the Pro Bowl in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, emerging as a stalwart member of the Steelers defense since being a first-round pick in 2014. He set a career high with 89 tackles in 12 games during the 2017 season before suffering the spinal injury against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Steelers used Jon Bostic and Vince Williams at their inside linebacker spot.