Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowl linebacker Ryan Shazier won’t play again this season.

Yet he remains very much a part of the team even after injuring his spine against Cincinnati last month.

Shazier attended practice on Wednesday for the first time since undergoing spine stabilization surgery on Dec. 6.

Shazier posted a photo on Instagram from the team’s indoor training facility as Pittsburgh prepared to host Jacksonville in the divisional round of the playoffs. Shazier is pictured in a wheelchair wearing sweatpants and a Steelers jacket http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-nyheim-hines-jersey , a visit that gave his teammates a needed jolt.

”It was awesome to see him,” guard Ramon Foster said. ”Everybody is worried but him and it proves that he’s as strong as it gets.”

The extent of Shazier’s injury has not been released. In his Instagram post, he said his visit to the facility was ”a first down” in his recovery. Shazier wrote he has been ”making strides” over the past month but added he is ”far from done.” The 25-year-old says he is ”working harder than ever” to get back.

The Steelers host the Jaguars on Sunday and the winner will advance to the AFC title game. Shazier is helping his team prepare. Defensive end Cam Heyward said Shazier is helping break down film like a scout, an extension of his role as the defensive play caller.

”He was the quarterback of the defense,” outside linebacker Bud Dupree. ”He was the person who knew things were coming before the play was snapped. He helps us out a lot too, even while he is in the hospital.”

Updates on Shazier’s condition have been sparse, though his father Vernon said in a TV interview last week he believes Shazier will play again. Not that it matters to his teammates. For now, Shazier’s presence is merely enough.

”It’s amazing to see and just to have the attitude he has after all he’s been through man, it’s pretty impressive,” guard David DeCastro. ”I don’t know if I’d be able to do the same.”

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Anthony Walker plays in the NFL. He spent the last month in the NBA.

The Indianapolis Colts linebacker started his offseason by spending four weeks as an intern with the Miami Heat, getting a crash course on how the basketball team from his hometown handles things from a business operations standpoint. The Heat exposed Walker to plenty, including how game nights work and the execution of off-site events.

”For me, it’s about trying to get the other side of sports,” Walker said . ”Football’s going to end for me at some point. I want to be able to use the networks I have now to help me in the future for when I do need to find something else to do with my life. And you never know when that’s going to come.”

The internship ended Friday. Walker is planning to be back in Indianapolis, ready to resume full-time football life in a few days.

He hopes football doesn’t end anytime soon. Walker just completed his rookie season with the Colts, appearing in 10 games – two starts – and making 22 tackles.

But Walker, 22, is also thinking about his future. That’s why he asked Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn for a favor.

Quinn was briefly an assistant coach at Northwestern http://www.chargersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-derwin-james-jersey , where Walker – who studied business management with a focus on sports, as well as marketing – played his college football. Quinn knew of Walker’s reputation from their simultaneous time with the Wildcats, and didn’t hesitate when asked to help broker something for him to do with the Heat.

”I knew he was a high-quality kid,” Quinn said. ”Anyone in his position, a current NFL player, to reach out and request an opportunity, that means he’s very driven and about the right kind of stuff. So I had no problem trying to help him in any way I could.”

Quinn passed Walker’s name up the Heat chain, and the internship deal was struck. Walker knows the experience will help him in his next career, but also sees ways it will make him better as a player.

”You see all the aspects of the game and all the outside stuff that we don’t get to see as athletes,” Walker said. ”We think we do our job and everything else just falls in place. But there’s a lot that goes into those other jobs, marketing, the equipment guys, all that stuff. You can’t take any of that for granted.”

In the end, both Walker and the Heat considered his time there a success.

”He did a really good job,” Quinn said. ”He took everything really seriously, which is awesome.”