Ryan Shazier has not played in the NFL for two seasons as he rehabilitates from spinal stabilization surgery, and there is no indication the Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker is ready to come back to the field in 2020.

Still, the Steelers continue to support Shazier’s comeback as they try to figure out how he fits on the team’s roster.

“It’s a unique situation,” general manager Kevin Colbert said Thursday when he met with select members of the media.

Team president Art Rooney said in January that Shazier’s contract from 2019 will not toll even though he spent a second consecutive season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

“We’d love to have Ryan back in some capacity,” Rooney said.

Colbert didn’t discuss specifics on Shazier’s contract situation Thursday, but if his contract expires, he would hit free agency when the new NFL calendar year begins March 18. The Steelers presumably could sign Shazier to a one-year contract for the $820,000 veteran minimum for a player with six years of NFL service time.

“Ryan is still technically on the roster,” Colbert said. “That’s something that Ryan, myself, coach Tomlin and Art Rooney will continue to discuss as he moves forward.”

In 2019, Shazier’s salary counted just $473,000 against the salary cap because his contract tolled from the previous year, and he was not on the team’s active list. While continuing his rehab, he attended practice and traveled to many of the team’s road games, serving as a mentor to rookie inside linebacker Devin Bush.

The collective bargaining agreement permits the Steelers to count $660,000 of Shazier’s salary against the cap, but salary-tracking websites spotrac.com and overthecap.com each list his 2020 cap number at $820,000.

Last offseason, the Steelers announced the day before the start of free agency that Shazier’s contract had rolled over, and he was placed on the PUP list in late April.

“When you’re dealing with Ryan Shazier, you’re not dealing with a timetable,” Colbert said. “You’re dealing with a young man who is trying to regain his career. We’ll always support that, whether it’s by a certain date or certain terms. There’s rules we have to live by, but there’s no ceiling and there’s no time frame on the possibility of his returning.”

Colbert continues to monitor Shazier’s progress, and he recently watched footage of Shazier’s workouts compared to the 2019 offseason. Injured in December 2017 making a tackle at Cincinnati, Shazier resumed walking in April 2018 and has continued to make strides in his rehabilitation program.

“It was significant improvement,” Colbert said. “We’re never going to take that away from Ryan. We have always told him we’ll never put a ceiling on it. When Ryan becomes healthy enough to play this game, which is his goal, we’ll make that decision and he’ll make that decision at that point, and we’ll respect it either way it goes.”

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