Despite having played for opposing teams, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady expressed support for Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, who was left paralyzed after a tackle against division rival Cincinnati Bengals, in 2017.

On Sunday, Shazier displayed an amazing development in his rehabilitation as he did a box jump. Shazier shared the video of his feat via Instagram, jumping three feet and landing on a flat surface while maintaining his balance.

It was a big leap for Shazier, who was left paralyzed, after the tackle, when he immediately grabbed his back and was never able to get back on his feet.

Shazier’s development caught the eye of Brady, who expressed a scary spinal injury after tackling Bengals wide receiver Josh Malone during a game on December 5, 2017. After making ed his support for the linebacker. Brady shared the video of Shazier from ESPN’s Twitter account and accompanied it with the caption “Keep Going” with an emoticon of a flexed bicep. Brady’s teammates, twin brothers Jason and Devin McCourty, also quote-tweeted the video of Shazier.

Shazier wants to return to NFL

In a recent interview, Shazier said his dream is to return to the NFL and play football again. “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,” said Shazier, a first-round pick (15th overall) by the Steelers in 2014.

The Steelers fully support Shazier’s rehab and recovery as they tolled his contract into the 2019 NFL season. Shazier will remain on the team’s roster this year but he will eventually be put on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List.

The move will give Shazier a salary commensurate with his years of service in the NFL and he will continue to accrue seasons toward his NFL players’ pension.

Most importantly, Shazier’s insurance coverage will be the same as of all active NFL players receive, an important part of his rehabilitation.

Interesting signing for Patriots

The Patriots recently signed German tight end/fullback Jakob Johnson as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. Johnson, who hails from Stuttgart, Germany, has a chance to make it to the Patriots’ 53-man roster via training camp.

In 2018, Johnson played for the German Football League’s Stuttgart Scorpions as a fullback and tight end, catching 43 passes for 474 yards with four touchdowns and registering 12 tackles. In his four seasons at University of Tennessee, Johnson caught three passes for 23 yards and recorded 24 tackles.

The Patriots are in need of tight end depth as they only have Matt LaCosse, Jacob Hollister, Stephen Anderson and Ryan Izzo on their roster following the retirement of Rob Gronkowski.
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