The Sports Xchange

The 2015 NFL regular season will kick off with the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots playing host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., according to multiple reports Tuesday afternoon.

The Thursday night game will match two playoff teams from last season who have won multiple Super Bowls.

The Patriots and Steelers last met in 2013 when New England rolled to a 55-31 victory at home.

The entire NFL schedule was to be released at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.

–Pro Football Hall of Famer and longtime San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Bob St. Clair died Monday at age 84 after a brief illness.

St. Clair spent his entire 12-year career with the 49ers from 1953 to 1964, playing in 119 games. He was named to All-NFL teams nine times and made five starts in the Pro Bowl. In 1990, St. Clair was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

–The Baltimore Ravens reached agreement with cornerback Jimmy Smith on a contract extension.

Multiple media outlets reported that the four-year deal is worth $48 million and includes $21 million guaranteed.

—New England Patriots left tackle Nate Solder was diagnosed with testicular cancer in April 2014 but decided not to discuss it until now to raise awareness during Testicular Cancer Awareness Month.

“I knew nothing about it. It was a complete surprise,” said Solder in an interview with ESPN. “You Google something like that and it kind of scares you, so I was like, ‘I’m not going to freak out about this.’ Had I not had a routine physical, I probably wouldn’t have checked it, saying, ‘Oh, it’s just in my head, I’m going to be fine.'”

Solder celebrated his 27th birthday two weeks ago and is entering his fifth NFL season. He started every game last season.

–Offensive guard Rodney Austin was released by the Detroit Lions four days after he was arrested and charged with assault on a female, assault on a child under 12, misdemeanor larceny and interfering with emergency communication in North Carolina.

Austin, posted bail bonds totaling $4,250 for the four charges, and has a June 5 court date in Mecklenberg County District Court.

–Brett Favre is coming back to torment the Chicago Bears one final time.

The Green Bay Packers plan to retire Favre’s No. 4 during a Thanksgiving night game with the Chicago Bears, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The game is the primetime main event in the tripleheader the NFL has put on for several years, but represents a change for Green Bay, which had been matched up with the Detroit Lions in the holiday game every other year since 2007.

–Johnny Manziel and Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine had a private conversation before the second-year quarterback returned for team workouts this week.

Manziel’s message was short, which is to the point: “Don’t judge me on my words. Judge me on my actions,” Manziel told Pettine.

Back with the team following more than 60 days in a rehab facility, Manziel is trying to put his rookie failures and partying past behind him. He is assured of nothing by Pettine and the Browns, who have a pair of first-round picks – No. 12 and No. 19 – and signed veteran Josh McCown while parting with 2014 starter Brian Hoyer.