First Call: Steelers work out Nate Herbig; Vikings lose an offensive lineman; Russell Wilson benched

Before their showdown in Ireland, the Pittsburgh Steelers may bring back an offensive lineman who was recently with the team, while the Minnesota Vikings are losing a starter up front.

Russell Wilson is getting benched in New York. A former Steelers linebacker is switching teams. And Paul Skenes has a big late-season matchup in Cincinnati.

All that in “First Call “for Wednesday.

Potential return?

The Steelers may bring back a familiar face along the offensive line. It’s Nick Herbig’s older brother, Nate.

As TribLive’s Joe Rutter noted on social media, Herbig was in for a tryout this week.

Steelers had guard Nate Herbig in for a tryout. He spent the previous two years here and told the Commanders he was retiring. He had signed with Washington in free agency.

— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) September 23, 2025

Nate Herbig signed with the Steelers in 2023 after stints in Philadelphia and New York with the Jets. He dressed for 17 games that year but missed all of 2024 with a rotator cuff injury.

He was terminated from the reserve/retired list in Washington on Monday. He had signed with the Commanders during the offseason. Last week, the Steelers had to place guard Max Scharping on injured reserve with a knee injury.

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Lineman lost

The Minnesota Vikings are getting a pass-catching weapon back in the lineup this week in Jordan Addison. He’ll return for the game in Ireland this Sunday after starting the year on the suspended list. But they are losing an offensive lineman for a while.

First-round pick Donovan Jackson is going on injured reserve for at least four weeks, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com

Vikings rookie LG Donovan Jackson had surgery on his wrist today, per Kevin O'Connell. Suffered the injury in Week 2 but played with it in Week 3. Expected back on the field after the Week 7 bye. Was on the injury report last week and was limited in two practices.

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) September 22, 2025

The rookie guard out of Ohio State was selected 24th overall. He’s off to a good start in his NFL career. Via Pro Football Focus, Jackson is guilty of allowing just one sack and committing one penalty in 159 offensive snaps.

Throwing Dart

Mr. Unlimited is now being limited to the bench in New York.

Former Steeler Russell Wilson is getting benched at quarterback with the Giants. Rookie Jaxson Dart is taking over at QB. That’s according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

So far this year, Wilson is completing 59% of his passes for 778 yards. He’s got three TDs, three interceptions and seven sacks. The Giants are 0-3 and are about to host the 3-0 Los Angeles Chargers.

Dart, the first-round pick out of Ole Miss, has yet to throw an NFL regular-season pass, although he had some good moments in the preseason.

Just two weeks ago, Wilson threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-37 loss to the Cowboys. The other two games New York lost were by final scores of 21-6 to Washington and 22-9 to Kansas City.

Staying close, but moving on

Former Steelers linebacker Mark Robinson is switching teams within the AFC East.

After being let go by the Steelers at the end of the preseason, Robinson latched on with the New England Patriots.

Now, he is heading elsewhere within the division. The New York Jets plucked him off the Patriots’ practice squad and onto their current roster.

An inter-AFC East poaching: The #Jets are signing LB Mark Robinson off the #Patriots practice squad, per source.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 23, 2025

Robinson made 45 tackles over 38 games (four starts) with the Steelers from 2022-24.

Good on good

It’s unclear how long Paul Skenes will pitch Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds in what will likely be his last start of the season.

However long he lasts against Reds starter Hunter Greene, though, expect pure smoke.

Skenes is 10-10 with a National League-best ERA of 2.03. He’s also tops in WHIP 0.96, and second in strikeouts with 209. San Francisco’s Logan Webb has 216.

In the 11 games Paul Skenes started this year without getting a decision, he allowed a total of 12 earned runs. pic.twitter.com/z5CN0s2AjI

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 23, 2025

Greene missed almost all of June, July and half of August with a groin injury. So some of his numbers may not qualify for postseason rankings, but are still very good (7-4, 2.74 ERA). Greene’s WHIP is .925, and his strikeouts per nine innings of 11.1 would be third in MLB. Skenes is at 10.4, which is seventh.

After Tuesday’s 4-2 Pirates win in Cincinnati, the Reds are now 80-77. The New York Mets won 9-8 at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4.

So that means the race for the final National League Wild Card has the Mets one game in front of the Reds and Diamondbacks for the final wild card slot.

Listen: Tim Benz and Pierre McGuire talk about the start of the Penguins preseason on 105.9 The X