Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: T Chukwuma Okorafor
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: The sixth-year veteran was benched in favor of a rookie on a short week, his job status uncertain moving into the next game. Okorafor told reporters after the game that he was sat down for disciplinary reasons, but did not know if he would be moved back into the starting lineup.
Is this the beginning of the end for Chukwuma Okorafor in Pittsburgh? That may sound a bit dramatic, but if the coaching staff has their eyes on installing rookie T Broderick Jones on the right side, then he could have made his last start as a Steeler.
While Okorafor told reporters after Thursday’s game that he was told by the coaching staff his benching was not due to performance, we can question that to some degree. He said that he was being disciplined for acting out in the team’s last game. But it could just be a convenient excuse for the team to make the transition to Jones.
The veteran himself said that he doesn’t know if he will be back in the starting lineup when they come back from a weekend break. The rookie first-round pick had a good game starting at right tackle, perhaps better than Okorafor has looked all season thus far.
And that was after just a couple days of practice working on the right side after spending most of his time on the left, on a short week. Even if their long-term plan is still for Jones to be at left tackle, he could settle in on the right side as a rookie and gain valuable playing experience.
As for Okorafor, he is due $8.75 million in 2024, including a $4 million roster bonus that will come due on March 22 if he is on the roster by then. If he is supplanted as a starter, it would be hard to imagine him returning next season on his current deal.
The fact that he has been penalized seven times in seven games doesn’t do him any favors, either. Jones didn’t play penalty-free football, but he is a rookie who is growing into the position. Okorafor is a veteran with 59 starts and nearly 4,000 snaps on his resume. He needs to do better.
