According to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Pittsburgh Steelers, along with several other NFL teams, recently showed interest in B.C. Lions right tackle Jovan Olafioye, who was named the best offensive lineman in the CFL last season.
The 6 feet 5½ inch, 320 pound Olafioye started every game the last three seasons for the Lions and surrendered just one sack in his past two seasons. The Green Bay Packers reportedly passed on signing Olafioye recently after turning him down for medical reasons. According to the report, Olafioye requires medication to control hypertension.
“It\’s my blood pressure, but I\’ve got it under control,” Olafioye said Tuesday night, via the paper. “I\’ve been to so many doctors and I\’ve been cleared by them all.”
The St. Louis Rams originally signed Olafioye last offseason but released him a few days later after he failed his physical. Olafioye reportedly failed to take his medication and was considered medically suspect and a liability issue at that point, per the Vancouver Sun.
Olafioye said this past November that he’ll entertain NFL offers during the offseason, but that he will not workout for any team at this point.
“I’m not going to go through that process (audition workouts) no more,” Olafioye told the Vancouver paper. “I’m going to sit at home and let my agent take care of everything. If a team wants me, I’ll go down there for a physical. But there’ll be no more workouts. I went through 15 last time. Teams already know about me. There’s a lot of video out there on me, three years’ worth. I’m not going to go through that process again.”
McGinn reports that the Baltimore Ravens recently gave Olafioye an offer but that it wasn\’t in the ballpark of what the offensive lineman wanted. If money is the issue, then Olafioye can forget about getting anything decent out of the Steelers, who already have salary cap problems to solve prior to the March 12 deadline.
Olafioye can reportedly play both tackle and guard spots and is considered very athletic, but raw. The Steelers could use a player like him for depth purposes, but right now it seems very unlikely that they will sign him.
