PITTSBURGH– The Steelers have made what many are calling a classy move to allow an injured player to collect on a majority of his salary despite being injured.
LB Ryan Shazier suffered a spinal injury in the middle of the regular season in 2017, and has been working on regaining the full ability to walk since.
Last week, Shazier was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list by the team, effectively ending his 2018 season before it began. It is unknown if he will ever be able to play in the NFL again, despite his wishes to return to the field.
Despite missing out on this season, the Steelers chose to make a move to ensure Shazier collects on most of his $8.2 million salary, by converting most of that money into a signing bonus.
The move allows Shazier to collect most of that money in bulk instead of waiting for payments throughout the season.
In 2017, Shazier started 12 games for the Steelers and recorded 89 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
