Patriots Bench Former Steelers OT

The former Pittsburgh Steelers starter had a tough debut with the New England Patriots.

Jun 10, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor (77) walks to the practice fields for minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor lasted just 12 snaps in his debut with the New England Patriots, after starting the game at left guard. Okorafor was pulled in favor of third-year tackle Vederian Lowe.

His performance received a disastrous grade from PFF, who gave him a 1.7 out of 100 according to their algorithm.

According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Okorafor was giving up too much pressure on the left side, making it harder for quarterback Jacoby Brissett to facilitate the offense.

Patriots are having some issues at LT.

Okorafor was allowing pressure off the edge, replaced by Lowe. Lowe gets a false start.

— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) September 8, 2024

Okorafor joined the Patriots after a six-year stint with the Steelers that ended on a sour note. Less than halfway into the 2023 season, the Steelers decided to bench Okorafor in favor of rookie Broderick Jones. At the time of his benching, the Steelers ranked 27th in the NFL in The 33rd Team's power rankings of offensive lines.

Upon the conclusion of the season, Okorafor was quickly released in February. He would go on to sign a one-year, $4 million deal with the Patriots to bolster an offensive line in desperate need of assistance. This was a large discount on his previous deal, which had him making $9.75 million on the Steelers offensive line.

His preseason performance left much to be desired as well, as he had three false start penalties in the Patriots final preseason game against the Washington Commanders.

His performance in Week 1 does not bode well for him. His deal is for this season only, and his inability to make an impact on one of the worst lines in the league both do not bode well for his future.

That being said, the season has just begun and it is likely Okorafor will get more chances to prove himself throughout the season and show that he can be an impact player at the highest level.

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