The Pittsburgh Steelers may have lost some of their depth along the offensive line. The Patriots could get a key piece of their team back Sunday when the Steelers visit New England.

Justin Fields won’t play Sunday for the Jets, and the Pirates are gearing up for their final home series of 2025.

All that in Thursday’s “First Call.”

Depth piece injured

Steelers offensive lineman Max Scharping is believed to have suffered a “significant” knee injury in practice.

That’s the reporting of Ian Rapoport from the NFL Network.

Sources: #Steelers interior OL Max Scharping suffered a knee injury during today's practice and the fear is that it's significant. He'll have an MRI to confirm the severity. A tough reality for a key depth piece for Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/Xxf6v7zDrT

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 17, 2025

Scharping was simply listed as “limited” on the team’s injury report Wednesday. Minimally, that designation means the player took less than their full allotment of reps during that given practice session.

The 29-year-old can play guard and center. This is his second season in Pittsburgh. He became a Steeler in October of 2024 and stayed on the roster for the rest of the season, dressing for two games.

The former Houston Texan re-signed here in August and was expected to be one of the organization’s backup interior offensive linemen, joining Spencer Anderson and Ryan McCollum.

Working back to health

The Steelers may have to deal with New England cornerback Christian Gonzalez on Sunday in Foxborough. The former first-round pick practiced Wednesday, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss.

CB Christian Gonzalez answers questions from reporters in the locker room.

"Excited to be back out there," he says. "I love football. This is what I do. So it's been very challenging to be out for so long."

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 17, 2025

The former Oregon Duck has been rehabbing a hamstring injury that occurred during the Patriots’ first padded practice of training camp on July 28. He has missed the team’s first two games of the season and hasn’t practiced since sustaining the injury.

According to the Associated Press, the 23-year-old “was seen participating in drills without apparent restriction.” Coach Mike Vrabel said “sure” when asked if it was possible that Gonzalez could play against the Steelers.

Via the Associated Press, on the three instances, Gonzalez — a second-team All-Pro last year — was the primary defender on DK Metcalf during a game between the Pats and Seahawks last year. Gonzalez broke up one pass and limited the new Steelers receiver to two catches for 10 yards on the others.

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Time for Tyrod

The New York Jets (1-1) made their injury designation for Justin Fields. He won’t play Sunday at Tampa Bay (2-0).

Adam Schefter of ESPN had the news Wednesday. The former Steeler is dealing with a concussion suffered during a 30-10 loss against Buffalo over the weekend.

Jets QB Justin Fields has been ruled out of Sunday's game vs. Tampa Bay due to his concussion. Tyrod Taylor will start. pic.twitter.com/fesTL9kdSb

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 17, 2025

After a sparkling game against the Steelers in Week 1, Fields was struggling against Buffalo before his injury, completing just three of his 11 passes for 27 yards, and he was sacked twice. That’s a 1.1 quarterback rating.

Tyrod Taylor will start in his place. Taylor didn’t have much luck against the Bills either, going 7 of 11 for 56 yards. He was also sacked twice and threw a touchdown with no interceptions.

The Bucs, meanwhile, are losing right guard Cody Mauch. He suffered a season-ending knee injury Monday night against the Houston Texans. Fellow offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs is still coming back from offseason knee surgery, and starting right tackle Luke Goedeke missed Wednesday’s walk-through with a foot injury he suffered in Week 1 and aggravated on “Monday Night Football.”

The team lost Pitt product Calijah Kancey to a torn pectoral muscle in that game too.

Last call in ‘First Call’

The Pirates (65-88) are preparing for their final home series of the year. They host the Athletics (71-81) for three games Friday through Sunday.

These two teams have a combined 169 losses. The Bucs have really gone in the tank in September, having lost 11 of 15 games this month. They have only one win since finishing a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 4.

The A’s are a different story of late. They just dropped a 5-4 defeat at Fenway Park on Wednesday. Pinch-hitter Nick Sogard’s 10th-inning infield grounder off Michael Kelly drove home Nate Eaton with the winning run.

Getting it done in the 10th!!! pic.twitter.com/tj1nznqUZK

— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 18, 2025

However, the club had won its previous five games.

With the franchise currently playing at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento after their move from Oakland, the A’s don’t enjoy much of a home-field advantage. Their 33 home wins are the second fewest in the American League in front of only the Chicago White Sox (32). The A’s will play there through at least 2027 pending the club’s move to Las Vegas.

On the road, they are decent, at 38-39. They play one more game in Boston on Thursday afternoon before flying to Pittsburgh. The Pirates are still above .500 at home at 42-36.

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