Steeler Tight End Expects to Return for 1985 Season

Tight end Chris Kolodziejski, despite undergoing two operations and missing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ final 11 games because of a knee injury, expects to play in 1985.

“If the rehabilitation goes well, I’ve been told I should be able to come back and play at 100%,” said the Steelers’ 1984 second-round draft choice.

Kolodziejski, a tight end who caught five passes as a rookie despite limited playing time, said “if all goes well, I’ll be reay for training camp this summer.”

Kolodziejski, from the University of Wyoming, suffered an injured left knee in the Steelers’ Oct. 14 game against the San Francisco 49ers. He underwent knee surgery several days after the injury, then underwent arthroscopic surgery last week because he felt he wasn’t recuperating fast enough.

“After the first one (operation), there was an audible clicking noise in the joint and the swelling didn’t go down the way they expected,” Kolodziejski told the Tribune-Review in Greensburg, Pa.

Kolodziejski said he will wear a lightweight knee brace for the rest of his career because of the injury.