Pittsburgh Steelers Exit Meeting: OL Max Scharping
Experience: 6 Years (1 with Steelers)
The Pittsburgh Steelers thought they had insulated themselves along the offensive line—and then they were a snap away from Max Scharping. That’s not supposed to be some terrible thing and certainly not an insult. But the point is, they had a plan, a well-laid one, and things went sideways in a hurry.
It started when they lost Nate Herbig to a season-ending injury in August. A month later, in-season they lost two starters. First, rookie RT Troy Fautanu, then two weeks later, RG James Daniels. Suddenly, the Steelers needed Max Scharping as important, valuable depth.
A 2019 second-round pick of the Houston Texans, Scharping has the pedigree the Steelers like. At 6-6 and 325 pounds, he has the basic attributes you would look for in a guard. Yet there is a reason that he hasn’t started an NFL game since 2021. He was a starter as a rookie and also started 11 games in 2021. Since then, however, he has been a backup, despite being healthy.
Over his career, he has played a good amount, though mostly early on. That is why the Steelers brought Scharping in, of course, because they wanted somebody with experience. He came to Pittsburgh with over 2,100 snaps of playing time under his belt, primarily with the Texans. During the previous two seasons, he was in the AFC North, logging time with the Bengals.
Cincinnati let him go during the offseason, and he signed with the Eagles in June. Philadelphia released him at the end of August, and he was picked up by the Commanders. The Steelers signed Max Scharping off Washington’s practice squad on Oct. 1, and he spent the rest of the season on their 53-man roster.
In all, Scharping totaled seven offensive snaps for the Steelers, all of them coming against the Chiefs. He actually played at left tackle, taking the garbage snaps at the end of the game for Dan Moore Jr. So at least that means he has position versatility.
While he doesn’t move the needle much, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Steelers to re-sign Scharping. Now 28 years old going into Year 7, he is at that Veteran Salary Benefit stage of his career. Chances are they wouldn’t have to offer him a signing bonus in order to keep him. In fact, he hasn’t had more than that since his rookie contract.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at home, the inevitable result of another early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, with no clear end in sight. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we will go down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.
