Pittsburgh Steelers don’t need to re-sign Ryan Shazier this offseason

The Pittsburgh Steelers have learned they won’t need to re-sign inside linebacker, Ryan Shazier, for the 2019 season while he works through his rehab.

Ryan Shazier’s goal is still to be able to play football again. Since leaving the field in Cincinnati in 2017, the inside linebacker has made his goal very clear. Now, while football still remains a future dream, Shazier and the Pittsburgh Steelers believed they would need to handle a new contract for a player uncertain if he’ll play again.

That has changed. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ed Bouchette wrote that he discovered during Super Bowl week that the Steelers won’t need to re-sign Shazier to keep him around for the 2019 season.

"“”Since he was on PUP all last season, his contract will ‘toll’ but at a significantly lower number, under $1 M. So they won’t even have to sign him to a new deal,” Bouchette wrote."

This means the Steelers will keep Shazier on the roster this season without taking much of a cap hit. It also allows Shazier to have another year of progress before the two sides sit down and discuss a realistic return in the future.

This helps both sides, as they have other issues to worry about outside of figuring out a new contract. Shazier’s future remains uncertain, but until his end goal changes it’s hard to argue believing he has a chance to see a field one day.

The Steelers will scout a number of inside linebackers this offseason both in free agency and the 2019 NFL Draft. Having Shazier around to mentor and help coach the new addition, along with helping the rest of the linebacking unit is something Pittsburgh wants moving forward.

Pittsburgh avoids a contract situation until next offseason, meaning they can focus on the rest of their issues and Shazier can continue to rehab and be paid. Seeing how much the fans and the team love the linebacker, it’s great news to hear the situation worked itself out, at least for this season.

It’s back to Antonio Brown drama and free agency for the Steelers. Expect plenty more news to come out of the locker room as the spring rolls in.