Patriots sign former Steelers offensive tackle (report)
The Patriots have begun to address one of their biggest needs on the roster on Thursday. The team agreed to terms with former Steelers starter Chukwuma Okorafor, according to MassLive’s Karen Guregian and Mark Daniels.
The 26-year-old has mostly played right tackle in his career and was released by Pittsburgh last month. New England is still looking to re-sign free agent tackle Michael Onwenu but if they’re unable to, Okorafor provides insurance at the position.
The Western Michigan alum has never played left tackle in his career. He has played 3,830 snaps at right tackle, 100 at tight end eligible and one snap at right guard, per Pro Football Focus.
The Patriots have both starting tackles on the free agent market with no depth behind Onwenu and Trent Brown. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo and de facto general manager Eliot Wolf have expressed their desire to see Onwenu return.
Okorafor was the Steelers’ third-round pick in 2018, started 59 games for Pittsburgh from 2018 through 2023. He was benched this season for comments about the Steelers offense following the Week 8 loss to the Jaguars. He didn’t see much of the field following the incident.
Along with Okorafor, the Patriots depth chart at tackle includes Calvin Anderson, Vederian Lowe, Conor McDermott, Tyrone Wheatley Jr., and Andrew Steuber. Reinforcements are certainly needed and will be addressed in free agency and the NFL Draft.
