Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor is signing with the New York Jets. Despite leaving the New England Patriots one game into the 2024 season and seemingly retiring, he’s giving football another go with a different AFC East team.
Drafted by the Steelers in 2018, Okorafor started 59 games for the Steelers and primarily played right tackle. He initially held off first-round tackle Broderick Jones in 2023 but was benched mid-way through the season for reportedly saying something negative about the team. It put him in Mike Tomlin’s doghouse and pressed Jones into action, starting on a short week against the Tennessee Titans.
Okorafor hardly played the rest of the season and exited as a free agent. He signed a one-year deal with the Patriots and started the team’s 2024 season opener, and Tomlin spoke well of him during the league’s spring meetings.
“They’re getting a very versatile, capable guy, a guy that’s starter-capable at both left and right tackle, and a guy that’s accountable and professional,” Tomlin said of what the Patriots were getting in Okorafor.
The signing didn’t pan out. Chukwuma Okorafor was benched for penalties and poor performance early into the team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, logging just 12 snaps before being yanked.
Unhappy with the situation, Okorafor left the team. New England placed him on the Reserve/Left Squad list, effectively ending his season. They released him last month.
Now, he’s getting a chance to stick with the Jets. Though likely facing long odds to make the 53-man roster, his experience and versatility, a college left tackle, could help him secure a backup spot. Okorafor doesn’t turn 28 until August, so there’s still time to turn around his career. But it’s a surprise signing on the first day of the new league year, and few expected Okorafor to be back in the NFL before Pittsburgh had a starting quarterback on their roster.
