In a surprise to his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates and their home crowd on Sunday, former Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier is in attendance at today's game against the New England Patriots.
As seen in the videos above and below, Shazier was shown on the video board at Heinz Field during the first quarter of Sunday's game, eliciting a massive roar from the crowd in Pittsburgh as he smiled and waved a Terrible Towel from a stadium suite.
Shazier has been hospitalized since suffering a spinal injury on Monday Night Football nearly two weeks ago. He underwent spinal stabilization surgery on Dec. 6 and has since been recovering at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. While specific details on his recovery have been scarce, a statement from UPMC doctors last week stated that Shazier "has started physical rehabilitation as part of his recovery process."
According to a report by CBS' Tracey Wolfson during the broadcast of Sunday's game, Shazier's Steelers teammates did not know that he would be at Heinz Field for the game. Current Steelers teammate and fellow former Ohio State player Cameron Heyward, however, told Wolfson that "if Ryan Shazier is in the house today, we better put on a good show."
