Steelers Lose Key Depth Piece for Season

Rapoport originally reported that Scharping had sustained a knee injury on September 17, though he stated that the 29-year-old was set to undergo an MRI in order to reveal the severity of it.

Scharping was a healthy inactive for each of the Steelers' first two games this season, but he was a veteran option who could've helped out up front if one of the team's starters on the interior went down with an injury.

Now that he'll be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign, though, Pittsburgh will have to rely on the likes of Spencer Anderson, Andrus Peat and Ryan McCollum to step up as the primary reserve options on the inside. It's also possible that the organization could look to bring in another experienced veteran to fill Scharping's role in the near future.

Scharping first signed to Pittsburgh's active roster from the Washington Commanders' practice squad in early October last season.

He played in just two regular season games for the team while logging a total of eight snaps, with seven of them coming in Week 17 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Scharping also received two special teams reps on the road vs. the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. He later re-signed with the Steelers back in April.

A second-round pick by the Texans out of Northern Illinois in 2019, where he appeared in a total of 54 contests, Scharping started 33 games for Houston through the 2021 season before being claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals at the time of final roster cuts in 2022.

Scharping played in 14 games for the Bengals that year and would proceed to suit up in all 17 of the team's games in 2023, but he never started during his time with the organization.

Additionally, he never played during the regular season for the Commanders in 2024 before landing with the Steelers.