UPDATE (11:46 AM): Per Fowler, the Steelers are officially adding OL Max Scharping to their 53-man roster.
Our original story is below.
The Pittsburgh Steelers plan to sign veteran offensive lineman Max Scharping off the Washington Commanders’ practice squad, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Tuesday morning.
Scharping will offer reinforcements along a Steelers offensive line that suffered another injury this season, losing RG James Daniels for the season to a torn Achilles.
A second-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2019, Scharping has appeared in 79 career games, making 33 starts. He most recently played for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023, logging 13 snaps on offense. A versatile player who played tackle in college, he’s primarily played guard throughout his NFL career. All of his starts came with the Texans from 2019-2021.
In 2023, Scharping logged 12 snaps at center and one as a tackle-eligible, per Pro Football Focus. In 2022, he played right guard and as a sixth offensive lineman. In 2021, his last year seeing substantial offensive line play, nearly all of his snaps came at right guard.
A free agent this year until June, he spent training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles before being released in late August. The Commanders signed him to their practice squad two days later.
Coming out of Northern Illinois, Scharping mostly played offensive tackle and made 53 starts. He measured in at 6057, 327 pounds with 33 5/8-inch arms. The 55th overall pick of his draft, he’s the third-highest Northern Illinois player to ever be drafted, only behind first rounders DL Larry English and S Jimmie Ward.
Pittsburgh’s o-line has suffered multiple serious injuries through the first month of the season. Rookie OT Troy Fautanu was lost for the season due to a dislocated kneecap, OG Isaac Seumalo has missed the first month with a pec strain, Daniels is out for the year, C Nate Herbig is out for the year due to a torn rotator cuff, OT Dylan Cook remains on IR with a foot injury, and OT Broderick Jones has battled injuries since training camp. Presumably, the corresponding move to add Scharping will be officially placing Daniels on injured reserve.
NFL rules state that players signed off another team’s practice squad must remain on the roster for at least three weeks (or if the player is released over that span, his spot can’t be filled) so Scharping should be with the team for the foreseeable future. He’s the second veteran Pittsburgh has added to its 53-man roster over the past week, signing former New England Patriots OT Calvin Anderson ahead of the Indianapolis Colts game.
