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Shazier has regained feeling in legs, report says

PITTSBURGH — Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier has regained feeling in his legs, according to a report by WPXI-Pittsburgh.

Shazier’s father, Vernon, declined to offer specifics on his son’s current condition but did recall the moments after he suffered the spinal injury during a Dec. 4 Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“He said, ‘Daddy, pray for me. I can’t feel my legs,’ ” an emotional Vernon Shazier said in an on-camera interview with WPXI, recounting his son’s call from the hospital.

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Shazier, a two-time Pro Bowler, underwent spinal stabilization surgery Dec. 7 at a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital, where he’s also undergoing rehabilitation.

Vernon Shazier said he won’t offer specifics on Ryan’s condition “until [Ryan is] ready to share where he’s at” but did note that his son is “making progress daily.”

“He’s a long way from where he was on that Monday night when he was laying on the field,” Vernon Shazier said.

Ryan Shazier has served as an emotional touchstone for the Steelers, who have paid tribute to their teammate with customized No. 50 shirts and cleats and constant hospital visits. Shazier watched the team’s Week 15 matchup with the New England Patriots from a Heinz Field suite, causing a roar from the home crowd when he appeared on the giant video screen there.

Vernon Shazier, a pastor who recently began giving sermons again, recalled wanting to switch positions with his son when he first saw the injury.

Now, he envisions Ryan one day playing football again.

“I Shalieve,” he said.

ESPN’s Katherine Terrell contributed to this report.

NFL

Decisions by Darnold, Rosen bring clarity to Browns' draft

The Cleveland Browns’ draft got simpler Wednesday night.

Decisions by USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen to enter the 2018 NFL draft mean the Browns can choose between the top two quarterbacks with the first overall pick.

The pick here is Darnold, the best pocket passer in the draft and a guy with size, arm strength and the ability to play the position.

When: April 26-April 28
Where: Arlington, Texas
NFL draft home page » | Projected order »

• 2018 draft QB class primer »
•InsiderTodd McShay’s Mock Draft 1.0 »
•InsiderMcShay’s Top 32 »
•InsiderMel Kiper’s Big Board »
• Kiper, McShay answer 25 questions »
• Underclassmen who have declared »

Rosen is close in ability — Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have him as the top-ranked quarterback — but given his obliquely stated preference not to play in Cleveland, the Browns would be wise to go with Darnold.

That would give them two young quarterbacks in Darnold and DeShone Kizer, whose final game of 2017 against Pittsburgh was impressive enough that he has to be in the mix.

Add a veteran who can play if needed and the Browns would be even better served. The thinking on Darnold is he is the best prospect, but he might not be ready to play right away.

That thinking can change. Carson Wentz was supposed to sit behind Sam Bradford as a rookie, but he earned the right to be on the field for the Eagles in 2016. The same could happen with Darnold and Kizer.

If the Browns could head toward the 2018 season with a quarterback group that includes a veteran, Kizer and Darnold, it would be a quantum upgrade from the 2017 group that featured a rookie Kizer, Brock Osweiler and Cody Kessler.

The Browns don’t need to overthink this. Taking Darnold is the best option, though if their rankings have Rosen as the clear better choice, so be it. Take him, then chuckle if he threatens to sit out. Either way, it’s a clear picture.

As for the No. 4 overall pick, this is also simple.

There are two players who could go at that spot, both of whom would be immediate upgrades (on paper): Penn State running back Saquon Barkley and Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Barkley would step in for Isaiah Crowell, who appears likely to leave via free agency. Fitzpatrick, who has the ability to play corner and the versatility to play any secondary position, could step in immediately.

There are some who say the defensive back takes precedence over a running back and that it’s not wise to take a running back fourth. There might be merit to the thinking. Teams have had success finding backs in lower rounds; Crowell was undrafted. A top defensive back can make a huge difference to a defense.

But Barkley is a special player who’s worth going against the grain. Think Todd Gurley when pondering if drafting a running back high is wise. There would be nothing wrong with Barkley at No. 4.

The draft in some years is a complex web of tough decisions. In other years, the picture is clear.

This year, the Browns are fortunate. The picture is clear.

With the first pick, they should take Darnold (with Rosen as the alternate). With the fourth pick, it should be whoever is left or better ranked between Barkley and Fitzpatrick.

NFL

Highsmith exits Packers front office for Browns

Alonzo Highsmith climbed the ranks of the Green Bay Packers personnel department in his 19 years with the team, but the senior personnel executive won’t be in the mix for the team’s vacant general manager job.

He told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that he will join the Cleveland Browns as vice president of football operations. The move reunites Highsmith with new Browns GM John Dorsey, the former Packers director of college scouting.

The 52-year-old Highsmith said he did not think he would be considered as a replacement for Packers GM Ted Thompson, who will not return in that role next season.

“We discussed so many ideas and all kinds of stuff,” Highsmith said in a phone interview from Cleveland. “I was exposed to so much stuff today. That’s why I thought it was as great opportunity. It feels good to go somewhere that you feel like you’re trusted.”

Highsmith on Monday was granted permission by the Packers to interview with the Browns and flew to Cleveland on Tuesday. He spent the day watching film with Dorsey and meeting with the Browns’ staff, including owner Jimmy Haslam.

“This is an opportunity to build something from the ground up, having an input, working with John Dorsey, who I respect a great deal,” Highsmith said. “To watch his work ethic today — we watched film all day. He made me feel rejuvenated. It was a lot of fun today.

“I understand they’ve had their difficulties in the past, but I kind of feel like when I went to the University of Miami. Every recruiter from Alabama to Notre Dame to Michigan told me if you go to Miami, you’ll never go to a bowl game. We became a dominant program. It kind of feels like that all over again, and that’s my mindset. I’ve never lost, and I don’t plan on losing now.”

The third overall pick in the 1987 NFL draft as a running back from Miami, Highsmith worked his way up the ranks of the Packers’ personnel department. Hall of Fame GM Ron Wolf hired him as a college scout in 1999, and he was promoted by Thompson to his current position in 2012. Along with Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst, Highsmith was one of Thompson’s top advisors.

Highsmith is best known for convincing the Packers to draft Donald Driver in the seventh round out of Alcorn State in 1999 and discovering undrafted free agent Sam Shields in 2010. Driver became the Packers’ all-time leading receiver, and Shields went on to make the Pro Bowl in 2014.

“It was a great 19 years,” Highsmith said. “I hope I did my part for the Packers to make them better. Now I’m gone and you know what, I won’t be the last guy.”

In fact, it’s possible Wolf or Gutekunst — or both — could leave Green Bay if they don’t end up as Thompson’s replacement. Packers president Mark Murphy said Tuesday that he understood the risk that he could lose some of the team’s top scouts if they don’t get the general manager job.

“We’ve got some good people here and you don’t want to lose ’em,” Murphy said. “But I also think the most important thing is getting the right person.”

NFL

Source: GM assigned to new role with Packers

Ted Thompson, the man who drafted Aaron Rodgers, hired Mike McCarthy and built a Super Bowl champion, will no longer be in charge of the Green Bay Packers’ personnel department, a source told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

The news was first reported by the NFL Network.

Thompson is expected to remain with the Packers in an advisory role, but the team will conduct a search for a new general manager.

The Packers have four strong internal candidates in Russ Ball, Brian Gutekunst, Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot Wolf, but the search also is expected to include outside candidates. That could include former Packers scouts Reggie McKenzie and John Schneider. McKenzie and Schneider, however, are general managers with the Raiders and Seahawks, respectively, and the Packers likely would have to make a trade if they wanted one of those candidates.

After Schneider, a native of nearby De Pere, Wisconsin, signed an extension last year with the Seahawks that runs through 2021, he told reporters that his new deal with Seattle does not include an out clause that would allow him to leave for the Packers’ front office (he didn’t confirm or deny a report that his previous contract with Seattle included such a clause).

Another former Packers personnel executive, John Dorsey, is off the board after he was hired as the Browns’ general manager last month.

Packers president Mark Murphy is expected to address the GM situation Tuesday.

Thompson, 64, has been in charge of the Packers’ football operations since 2005. His first-ever draft pick was Rodgers. Thompson then fired Mike Sherman as head coach after the 2005 season and hired McCarthy. Together, they won Super Bowl XLV, the Packers’ first title since Super Bowl XXXI.

A former linebacker for the Houston Oilers, Thompson broke into scouting with the Packers under Hall of Fame GM Ron Wolf in 1992. He stayed with the Packers until 2000, when he left to join former Packers coach Mike Holmgren with the Seahawks. He served as Seattle’s vice president of football operations until 2005, when former Packers president Bob Harlan hired him as the Packers’ general manager.

Thompson curtailed his scouting schedule in recent years following hip replacement surgery and delegated more authority to his deputies. Ball, the Packers’ chief contract negotiator, took on many of Thompson’s administrative duties. Ball is viewed as one of the leading candidates to take over for Thompson despite having a background in finance and not player evaluation. If Ball gets the job, the Packers could pair one of their top scouts — Gutekunst, Wolf or Highsmith — with Ball. However, the Packers could lose any or all of those scouts if they’re bypassed for the GM job.

This will be the first football hire for Murphy, who became president in 2008. Because the publicly owned Packers don’t have a traditional owner, Murphy is head of the seven-member executive committee. Murphy informed the committee Monday that the team would conduct a search for a new GM.

ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this report.

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