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Report: New England Patriots agree to terms with former Steelers OT Chukwuma Okorafor

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•03/07/24
Patriots helmet
Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The New England Patriots decided to beef up their offensive line on Thursday afternoon. The franchise agreed to terms with former Pittsburgh Steeler offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

On March 14th, 2022, he signed a three-year deal worth $29.25 million with the Pittsburgh franchise. He played in 77 games with the Steelers, starting 59 times during the last six seasons. Okorafor suited up in 14 games in 2023, making seven starts. Pittsburgh decided to release him in February, which meant he was free to sign with any team before the start of the new season.

According to Mark Daniels of MassLive.com, New England would like to re-sign Michael Onwenu, who is a pending free agent. But signing the former Pittsburgh Steeler will give the Patriots more depth at the right tackle spot.

The Patriots made some massive moves in the offseason, moving on from legendary head coach Bill Belichick. The move was framed as a mutual parting of ways by both sides. In his place, New England decided to tab former Tennessee football star Jerod Mayo as their head coach.

Jerod Mayo spent eight seasons in the NFL, all of which were with the Patriots, playing for Bill Belichick. It was an incredibly successful career too, winning the 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, going to two Pro Bowls, and being named an All-Pro in 2010. He also won a Super Bowl with New England.

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Okorafor was one of the better offensive linemen for the Steelers the past few years. Pittsburgh drafted him in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He’s spent time at right tackle the past few years for the Steelers franchise.

He played his college football for the Western Michigan Broncos, where he was one of the best offensive linemen in the country. Okorafor earned first team All-American honors in 2017 and brought home first team All-MAC honors twice (2016 and 2017).

When he was coming out of Southfield (Southfield, Michigan) high school, he received attention from nearly every school in the country: Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, NC State, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. He ultimately decided to spurn all of those schools and pick the WMU Broncos, due to how close it was to home.

On3’s Dan Morrison also contributed to this article.