Is Chukwuma Okorafor’s release a roadblock in getting Broderick Jones to left tackle?
The Steelers’ decision to release veteran T Chukwuma Okorafor surprised precisely nobody. When a high-priced player loses his starting job, his value substantially diminishes. Okorafor would have needed to take a pay cut to remain, given what the Steelers were due to pay him.
But it does beg the question, does this make it harder for the Steelers to move Broderick Jones to left tackle? They drafted him in the first round in 2023, trading up to do so, to be their left tackle of the future. Well, the future is now, or at least it should be.
He started most of the season at right tackle, with some up-and-down results. They threw him into the fire after getting a minimal amount of practice there during the offseason. One could reasonably expect he can continue to improve there, but why not strengthen a strength?
Even Jones said he would rather play left tackle. That’s where he played the vast majority of his career before last season. The only problem is Dan Moore Jr. is at left tackle, and even he basically says he can’t play on the right side. So if Moore can’t start at right tackle, you need a new right tackle to start Jones on the left.
That’s certainly manageable but also easier said than done. And you don’t necessarily one two very inexperienced players at your starting tackles. Jones only started one game at left tackle as a rookie, even if that is his more familiar spot. If you start a rookie at right tackle, you’re opening yourself up for a smorgasbord of preventable mistakes. The sort that you correct over time through experience.
There was a small part of me that wondered if the Steelers would retain Okorafor to plug back in at right tackle while moving Jones to the left side. If he started, you could justify his salary do yourself much easier.
Now, though, the Steelers either need to acquire a new starting-capable right tackle or try to make one of Moore. And given that he hasn’t been an unqualified success at left tackle the past three years, that doesn’t seem the ideal option.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Kenny Pickett the guy? Will he get another season’s reprieve without a serious challenge? How will the team address the depth chart? Do they re-sign Mason Rudolph, one of few significant unrestricted free agents?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
